KairiXSquall
by KairiStrife
Summary: This is my fan fiction story between my OC Kairi Strife, and Squall Leonhart.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Kairi cradled herself tightly as she leaned herself against a large rock. She glared at her black, combat boots, horrified. Tears poured from her crimson red eyes, which soon started to give her a burning sensation. Slowly, she placed her right hand upon the right side of her chest, and she could feel her heart race.

"What is this feeling?" she silently whispered to herself as she used her free hand to wipe the tears from her burning eyes. "Why do I feel so-" She had no clue how to describe the mood she was in.

~Flashback~

Cloud let out a loud sigh as he ran his fingers through his blonde hair. "Where have you been all this time?" he asked as he stopped pacing himself around the room. He gave Kairi a look that told his sister that he was tired, and frustrated.

Kairi frowned at her brother, and folded her arms against her chest. Her nose curled in fury, and she tried her best not to snarl at him. "I have already told you Cloud, I don't know!" she snapped. She could feel her white cat ears bury themselves into her golden yellow hair, and her long, thin, white tail whip itself around her body.

"I don't believe you" Cloud mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief. "You were gone for a long time! Surely you would know where you were."

Kairi bit down on her bottom lip to pull her back from her rabid anger. Her hands slowly curled into tight fists, which made her sharp claws dig into her flesh, and drew blood. "I was forced by Kadaj to stay with him, Loz and Yazoo. I have been everywhere!" She plunked herself down on a chair, and raised her head to look at the ceiling. "Besides, why would you want to know? I have been gone for a long time, and you never even bothered to go search for me?"

There was a sudden silence between the two, which made things feel awkward.

"I WAS looking or you!" Cloud finally spoke. The tone in his voice was shaky. "I have been looking for you ever since you disappeared." He glared over at Kairi, and felt as if he should change the subject. "What happened to you?" he asked as he pointed at her right arm, which was covered with a white wrap. It started around her beck, and it gradually worked its way around her shoulder, around her arm, and it ended around her fingers.

Kairi lowered her head to take a look at her arm before turning her attention to Cloud. "It is nothing." She wasn't in the mood to explain things, and she also didn't want to tell what was wrong with her. She wanted to have her privacy, and her private life secret.

Cloud opened his mouth to say something, but Kairi interrupted m by getting up from the chair, and began to walk away.

"I don't want to hear it Cloud." She gave him and emotionless stare, and placed her hand over the doorknob once she approached the door.

"Wait, Kairi!" Cloud slightly panicked as he took a step towards his sister, but he stopped once Kairi raised a hand. "You don't understand."

Kairi couldn't help but to let out a loud laugh. "Pfft, of course I understand. I understand that I mean nothing to you." She turned the doorknob, and opened the door swiftly. "Good bye, Cloud." With that said, she left

~End of Flashback~

Kairi groaned as she raised a hand, and placed it on her forehead. She could feel that her face was steaming up from anger. "Anger" she whispered to herself as she lowered her hand. "IS that the emotion that I feel?" The certain emotion confused her, but she wasn't going to question it.

"Huh?" She slowly raised her head to stare at the dark sky once she felt something wet touch her pale skin. She noticed that the clouds were darker than usual. "Rain" she muttered under her breath as she let a few more raindrops hit her face. "Just lovely." She usually called rain her worst enemy, but she soon let that thought go after more raindrops fell on her. The rain seemed to be something that made her feel calmer, and it relieved a lot of stress off of her. She let the rain pour down on her as she peacefully closed her eyes, and let her anger wash away. "He probably forgot all about me" she softly spoke. "It is better off this way."

Kairi sat under the rain for a while longer before getting up off of the wet ground, and reached down to grab her bag, and her gunblade, which was a gift.

"I better get going." She frowned in sorrow, and began walking down a long path that lead to nowhere in particular. She didn't know where she was going at all. Her idea was that she was going to walk and walk until she came to a place that she thought was acceptable. "Wonder where I will end up this time?" she calmly asked herself as she threw her bad over her shoulder, and ran her fingers through her hair. "It better be decent."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Ugh, is this going to end?" Kairi complained as she slowly drug herself into a nearby town, which sent shivers down her spine because it seemed quiet and peaceful. It was night, so all of the street lights were on, and made the whole town light up. It gave the non-living things life.

"What is that-that thing?" a woman whispered as she leaned close to a man that stood beside her.

The man glanced at the woman, and turned to Kairi. "I haven't seen anything like that" he whispered back. "Look at all of the bandages that she has."

Kairi's eyes perked up after hearing the two talk. Her eyes scanned the humans with rage, which caught their attention. A small smile crept across her face as she watched their expressions turn from curious, to horrified. She was too exhausted to even make a complaint. She felt as if she was going to drop everything, and collapse.

"Do you think that she is ok?" the woman asked the man. Her voice trembled.

The man shrugged, and tried to make eye contact with Kairi. "I don't know" he quietly answered. "She looks like she is sick.

Kairi ignored the further comments, and continued to drag herself further into the town. "Where is the inn?" she asked, mostly to herself. Her voice was dry, and hoarse ever since she ran out of water hours before arriving at the town. She waited for an answer, but she did not receive any. "Fine then, don't answer." She lowly growled under her breath, and leaned herself against a wall so she could take a short break from walking. "I should of stole Cloud's bike while I had the chance." She placed her gunblade against the wall, and used her hand to rub her face. "It is always the same thing every time I go to places. People need to learn to respect those around them." She removed her hand from her face, and took a chance to study the place.

For a small town, it looked like it would be a nice place to live in. The houses, and shops seemed to be in all one place, so it wasn't far to go if you wanted, or needed something. The citizens of the town looked to be very civil, and easy to get along with, but to Kairi, everyone that she runs into is known as her enemy.

"Is this the place?" Kairi curiously asked herself as she folded her arms against her stomach. A lot of questions rumbled through her head as she scanned the area. She wondered if she could stay in the town for a longer period of time since she usually stayed at inns for one day, and then left the next day. Something inside of her told her that she needed to find a place to call home.

"Hey!"

Kairi blinked once she heard a voice yell at her. Her eye turned hard after she saw a man standing in front of her, and was waving a hand at her. "What?" she snarled.

The man frowned at her, and grumbled. "Will you please venture off somewhere else?" he asked harshly. He pointed finger at a random direction. "You are scaring away the people."

Kairi raised an eyebrow at the man, and let out a small laugh. "You have to be kidding me?" she snorted. "I am not scaring anyone."

The man cleared his throat, and lowered his arm. "Listen, I don't want to stand here and argue with you all day. I have a life that I need to get back to."

Kairi glared at the man, and reached over to grab her blade. Usually she had the energy to stand and argue with people, but at the moment, she wanted to sleep. "Fine" she hissed, and showed her fangs. She turned her head away, and started walking as quickly as possible. "What an ass." She glanced over her shoulder to look back at the man before entering an ally. The man made her forget about finding an inn to stay in for the night. "What a rude person!" She shook her head, and stared ahead to see where the ally would take her. Sadly, the ally took her nowhere. It eventually sent her to a dead end.

"Great!" Kairi growled as she set both her bag and gunblade on the ground, and sat down beside her bag. "I did not picture myself sleeping in an ally tonight. I planned on taking a lot shower!" It bothered her that she never got to bathe in a week. She felt very gross, and slimy. She let out a long sigh, and lay on the ground with her bag under her head. The thought of sleeping outside made her slightly paranoid. It made her think about the downfalls, which included someone sneaking up on her, and take her things, or someone killing her for no reason. She felt extremely unsafe. "Better sleep with one eye open' she told herself as she curled up into a ball, and wrapped her arms around her legs. "It better be worth it." She frowned, and closed her eyes slowly, and took her time to drift into some sort of slumber.

-Next Day-

"Hey, you ok?" asked a male voice. "Hey, wake up!"

Kairi groaned as she felt someone touch her shoulder, and shook her. "Leave me alone!" she mumbled as she rolled over in her sleep. As she rolled over, she felt as if something wasn't right. The last thing that she remembered was falling asleep on a solid surface. Now she was somehow on a surface that was soft and comfy.

"It is time for you to get up" the voice said.

Kairi frowned as she felt the hand shake her again. "I said leave me alone!" She opened her eyes, and turned over so she could get herself into a sitting position. "What do you think your-" Kairi stopped talking once she looked over to see who was shaking her.

Staring at her was a tall male, which was giving her a confused look. He had brown hair that slightly covered his face, but it wasn't enough to hide a scar that was on his forehead, and it ended between his eyes. His blue eyes seemed to dazzle her interest, but she wasn't going to let that fool her. She secretly examined the rest of him without the guy knowing. She noticed that he was well built because she could see his muscles through the white t-shirt that he was wearing. 'Is that really necessary?' she mentally asked herself as she realized that he was wearing more belts then he really should be wearing. 'Does he really need that many belts? Jeez, he must have some time trying to keep those pants up.'

"Is there a problem?"

Kairi's eyes zoomed back up to his face once she heard his voice. "Huh, did you say something?" she asked as she blinked a couple of times.

"Is there a problem?" the guy repeated. "The look on her face told me that you looked lost."

Kairi turned away, and didn't respond immediately. She wasn't really good at talking to random people. She always tended to say something that was usually hurtful. "There is nothing wrong with me." Her voice was low. She quickly stared at him with the corner of her eyes. "Where am I? The last time I checked, I was falling asleep in an ally."

The guy crossed his arms, and frowned. "Well I overheard everyone talking about some freak of nature with cat ears, so I decided to go look for this person, and I eventually found you in the ally. I somewhat felt bad because what girl, or woman, sleeps in an alleyway?"

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "Uh, a prostitute?"

The guy slightly blushed at the comment, but he shook it off. "Yeah, I guess so. Anyways, I just felt bad, so I took you here to my place so nobody could find you and make a complaint."

Kairi listened to what he had to say, and nodded afterwards. She didn't know how to react, so she gave him a disgusted glare.

The guy noticed her expression, which made him take a few steps back. "Sorry!" He slowly raised his hands in the air.

"Who are you anyway?" Kairi sighed as she brought her legs close to her body so she could hug them.

"My name is Squall" the guy replied as he lowered his arms. "And you are?"

"I am Kairi." She looked down so her eyes could focus on her feet. She suddenly felt hungry, but she wasn't going to bring that up. She knew she had food in her bag, wherever that was.

"Why did you come into this boring town?" Squall asked as he sat down on a chair that was behind him.

Kairi hesitated to answer, but she knew that she would want some sort of reply. so she made up a lie to cover her. "I really like to travel" she began. "I have decided one day that I was going to see new things. I somehow got lost, and I ended up here."

Squall didn't find her story believable, but he went with it anyways. "Ok?"

Kairi started to get the feeling that the conversation was about to get awkward. "I better go." She unwrapped her arms from around her legs, and pushed herself off of the couch. "I don't want to be a bother, and I don't want to be any trouble." She fixed her hair, and sighed. "Where did you put my bag, and my gunblade?"

Squall was silent as he listened to Kairi. He had become very curious about her ever since he found her the previous night. He didn't know that there was someone else besides him and Seifer who owned one. "Where did you get that blade?" he asked, ignoring everything that Kairi said.

Kairi gave him an impatient glare. "I'm sorry, but I believe that I asked you were you placed my stuff."

"I know, but I am just curious. I am not trying to stall your or anything. I just want an answer to my question."

Kairi rolled her eyes, and placed a hand on her hip. "I don't know where I got it. Does that answer your question?" She was starting to get agitated.

Squall slowly nodded his head. "Yes, somewhat." He got up off of the chair, and left the room.

"What an ass" Kairi whispered to herself as she buried her face into her hands for a few moments to try to clear her mind. "Why is this happening to me?" She felt creped out over the fact that some random a person, who was very good looking, picked her up off of the streets, and brought her to his home.

"Here you go." Squall came back into the room with her stuff in his hands.

Kairi took her face out of her hands, and turned in Squall's direction.

"I don't know how a skinny girl like you could carry suck heavy objects. "

Kairi frowned at him, and took her things. "Looks could be deceiving" she muttered. Her glare turned hard as she looked at him, and discovered that Squall was trying to look into her eyes. "What?" she rudely asked.

Squall didn't respond right away. He seemed to be interested with her eyes. "I don't know why people are so obsessed with red eye contacts, or cat eyes."

Kairi lowly growled under her breath, and turned herself away from him. "These are not contacts" she snarled "These are my real eyes."

Squall sighed, and couldn't understand her mood. He began to think that she had a hard time to control her unnecessary mood swings. "Women" he whispered to himself as he walked past Kairi. "Follow me."

Kairi watched him go past her, and didn't think twice before following him. She was delighted that she got to leave, but she was also a bit disappointed at the same time. She began to have a feeling inside of her that she never felt before, which made her hurt inside. The feeling stayed inside her for a few moments before it vanished.

"Well, have a great life!" Squall said as he opened the door. He tried to sound like he was glad to get rid of her.

"Yeah, I will try" Kairi spoke as she walked out of the door. She turned her head to glance over her shoulder. "Can you tell me where the nearest inn is?" she asked. "I have meant to do that last night, but I ended up sleeping in an ally."

Squall raised an eyebrow at her, and looked away. "It is that way" he told her as he pointed a finger in a random direction. "You go down that road, take a right, walk down that road, and you will find the inn."

Kairi did her best to take in all of the information, and managed to don in the end. "Um, ok."

Squall nodded, and got ready to close the door. "Oh, by the way, you need a shower" he added. "You smell like a wet cat." He grinned slightly, and closed the door.

"Hey-" Kairi turned herself around to finish what she had to say, but she paused after Squall closed the door. "Asshole" she grumbled as she looked away, and began walking.

It took her awhile to find the inn because she got lost a couple of times in the process. "That dumbass gave me the wrong directions!" she hissed as she approached the inn doors, and lugged her stuff inside.

"Good morning!" the innkeeper greeted cheerfully as she walked up to Kairi as she entered.

Kairi took a quick glimpse at the woman, and looked away to see if she was in the right place. For one, she wasn't aware that it was morning, and second, the interior of the building freaked her out because it was full of light moods. The walls were bright, which made the room look a lot larger then it was, and the furniture gave the room a comfy feeling. "Um, hi."

A worried frown swept across the woman's lips, and offered to take her things. "You look very tired."

Kairi hook her head at the woman. "I don't need any help. I have come here to rent a room for one night."

The innkeeper nodded at her, and rushed into a small room that was behind the counter. "Here you go!" The woman came out of the room with a set of keys in her hand. "Your room is number '104'."

Kairi took the keys from the woman with her free hand. "Ok."

The woman smiled. "IT will cost you about 200 Gil, but you can pay tomorrow."

"Perfect, that will work for me." Kairi gave a small smile, and started to lug all of her things into the room that she was given.

"Finally, a bed" she sighed in relief as she entered the room, and closed the door behind her. She rested her gunblade against the wall, and tossed her bag onto the bed. She ran her hands roughly through her hair, and began to walk around the small room. It was big enough to fit a small bed against a wall, a night stand, and a small bathroom. It wasn't bad, but Kairi thought that she could live with it.

"Finally, a shower" Kairi said to herself as she rummaged through her bag with a smile on her face. She pulled out a change of clothes, which were surprisingly clean, and her hair stuff. Closing her bag, she smiled more, and entered the bathroom to take a long, relaxing shower.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Damn it!" Kairi hissed as she tried to put a new bandage over her arm. She hated whenever she had to re-bandage her arm because it was very difficult. "Why do I even have to do this?" she asked herself as she looked at the skin. The color of her right arm was not like the rest of her body. There were black patches running all the way down her arm. It almost looked like rashes. "Stupid geostigma! Why can't it just kill me now?" She let out a sigh of relief once she finally wrapped the bandage around her arm properly. "There." She turned her head to look at the window, and frowned at the sight of the sun. Staring at the window made her think of Squall. The thought of him made her blush, but she eventually shook it off once she realized what she was doing. "No!" she snarled, shaking her head in disgust. "That is stupid of you! Don't think of those that you don't know!" She clenched her hands into tight fists, but they soon untightened once she heard her stomach growl. "Crap, I forgot about food." She cursed under her breath, and reached over to grab her bag so she could find food.

"What?" Kairi slightly panicked as she tried not to tear everything out of the bag. She noticed that there was no food inside. Having no extra food bothered her because that meant she had to go out and buy more. "Kairi, you are really stupid" she told herself as she closed the bag, and threw it over her shoulder before getting up off of the bed. She quickly checked herself out in the mirror, and was glad that she looked perfectly fine. Smiling, she turned away from the mirror, and left the room.

The small town looked crowded once Kairi left the inn. People huddled around small shop, and stand to gather the things that they needed, and then moved on with their daily routines.

"This should be fun" Kairi whispered as she took her time to step out into the busy streets. She didn't like the feeling of walking out into a crowd because she could be pointed out amongst everyone else. Her ears lowered against her head as she wandered around. She didn't like the stares that she was getting, which made her feel like she was the center of attention. She didn't like that at all. "What should I get?" she asked herself as she tried to ignore all of the stares and quiet whispers. She past stands that were full of fruit, vegetables, and other types of food, but she was looking for a certain kind. She was craving fish. "Where is that fish?" She slightly sniffed the air, and could smell the scent of many types of fish. The smell trickled under her nose. "Mmm." She looked down the road, and could see that the fish stand was in her view. A smile appeared on her face as she moved away from the other food stands, and walked towards the fish.

"Good morning!" greeted the clerk, who owned the fish stand.

Kairi tried not to shiver at the man's greeting. Nice people made her very nervous, and grossed out. "Um, hi." She didn't bother to make eye contact with the man because she didn't want to start a conversation. 'Yum, Salmon and Tuna!' she purred mentally.

"How can I help you today?" the clerk asked, smiling.

Kairi didn't answer him because she was too busy looking for the cheapest fish. "I think I will take that one, and that one." She pointed at the tuna, and salmon. She waited for the clerk to get the fish before she reached into her bag to get her wallet, but she soon discovered that something was wrong. "Shit!" she hissed.

"Is there something wrong?" the clerk asked as he began to package the fish.

Kairi quickly glanced at the clerk, and shook her head. "It is nothing."

"Kairi!"

Kairi's ears perked up as she heard someone call for her. "What is it now?" she sighed as she looked behind her, and saw Squall approach her with a wallet in his hand. "What?"

Squall stopped walking once he was beside her. "I was wandering around the house, and I noticed this on the floor." He handed her the wallet that was in his hand. "I looked inside to see if there was and ID, and I saw your picture."

Kairi took the wallet, and gave Squall a death glare. She knew that her things were at this place when she woke up, so she came to the conclusion that he took her wallet out of her bag while she was asleep. "You stole my wallet!"

Squall raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "I found your wallet, so I am simply returning it."

Kairi growled at him, and curled her free hand into a fist. "I that is a bunch of bullshit!" she snapped. "You stole my wallet!"

Squall shook his head. "Calm down, and listen to me. I am going to say this slowly. '.!" He made sure that there were poses in between each word.

"I am sorry to interrupt, but which one of you is going to pay for this? I don't have all day." The clerk gave them both an annoyed stare.

Kairi turned her head to look at the clerk before turning back to Squall. "Wait a moment" she said. "Admit it, you stole my wallet!"

Squall frowned. "Here." He reached over and took Kairi's wallet out of her hands. "Here is the money." He then opened the wallet, took the money out, and gave it to the clerk before closing the wallet back up. "Problem solved."

Kairi's eyes widened at what Squall just did. "What was that about?" she freaked as she grabbed her wallet from Squall.

Squall slightly smiled at her. "I just solved your little problem."

Kairi rolled her eyes, took the bag that had the fish inside, and turned to walk away.

"Well you are moody" Squall commented. He let out a small laugh, and decided to follow her.

"Well of course I am moody. I woke up in a stranger's house, who gave me the wrong directions to the in, AND, stole my wallet!"

Squall threw his hands in the air. "For the last time, I did you a favour by getting you off of the streets. I could have just left you there, and I didn't steal your wallet!" He started to get extremely frustrated with her. "Just get over it!"

Kairi brushed her hair away from her face, and let out an angry sigh. She stopped walking, and turned around to face him. "Look, I am not in the mood to listen to you. I am just going to walk away, and pretend that nothing has happened." She frowned at him as she watched his expression turn hard. "What?"

Squall shook his head, and crossed his arms. "Nothing" he muttered. He eyed the bag of fish, and pointed at it. "You know that you won't be able to cook that at the inn you're staying at. There is no place to cook it."

Kairi glanced down at the bag, and then focused on Squall. "You really like to lie do you?" she complained. "First, you lie about the directions of the inn, and now you are making up a lie about this!"

Squall shook his head again. "I am not making up a lie. You will have to go out in the middle of nowhere to cook it."

"But I don't know how to cook!" Kairi sighed.

Squall let out a small laugh, and raised an eyebrow. "So, you bought fish that you will not be able to make?" He laughed again. "What a waste of money!"

Kairi pouted, and felt as if she wanted to punch him square in the face. "I could find my own way." She could feel the anger rise in her body.

Squall sighed, and uncrossed his arms. "Look, I will try to be nice to you again. You're lucky that you ran into someone that knows how to cook, so I would surprisingly offer to cook it for you."

Kairi didn't know whether to accept the offer, or let it pass. She felt embarrassed to even admit that she didn't know how to cook. It made her feel stupid. "I don't know."

"You might as well give that fish to the hobo cats because you will end up getting sick from eating raw, uh, stuff. I don't care either way."

Kairi looked down at the ground, and began to think everything over. She knew that Squall was telling the truth, somewhat. "Fine" she agreed. "You can-wait!" She raised her head to glare at him. "You just want to do this so you can get free food!"

Squall rolled his eyes at her, and began to walk away. "Come on if you want to get the use out of your rood."

Kairi watched Squall walk away from her, and frowned as she slowly started to follow.

"I still think that you are offering to cook the food because you don't want to make your own" Kairi said for the tenth time as she stalked Squall to his house.

Squall sighed at Kairi's complaining. :Look, if you don't want to accept my kindness, which is rare by the way, then get lost." He didn't know how long he could put up with her nagging.

Kairi stared at the back of Squall's head, and stuck her tounge out at him. It was starting to annoy her over the fact that her and Squall were arguing all the way to his house. It reminded her of all the arguments that her and Cloud use to have. It started to worry her a bit.

"So, what is your answer?" Squall asked as he approached his front door, and glanced back at Kairi. "Do you want me to cook the fish, or not."

Kairi gave him a blank expression, and frowned. The last time she had ate anything was before she even found the town. "Yes, you can cook it."

"Ok then." Squall reached into his front pocket, and pulled out his keys. "That is all I needed to know."

Kairi tried to wait patiently as Squall took his time to unlock the door. She felt as if he was being slow just to get her going. 'Just open the damn door!' she mentally said to herself.

"There" Squall sighed as he finally opened the door. He took the key out of the doorknob, and stuffed them back in his pocket. He didn't bother to turn around to look at Kairi afterwards. He simply walked into his house, and waited for her to enter.

Kairi continued to think about things in her mind. 'Has he ever heard of ladies first?' She let out a loud sigh, and entered the house.

"What are you up for?" Squall asked as he closed the door.

"I don't know" Kairi admitted. Her fingers fiddled around with the handles of the bag as she tried to decide whether to have the tuna, or the salmon. She knew that she could eat the tuna the way it was, but the salmon had to be cooked. "I think that the salmon would be good."

Squall nodded, and took the bag of fish from Kairi, and headed to his small kitchen. "This stuff stinks" he pointed out.

Kairi scrunched up face in frustration. "No it doesn't!"

Squall frowned because he knew that she couldn't see his expression. "She is a handful" he whispered to himself as he took the salmon out of the bag.

Kairi's ears perked up, and started to twitch as she heard Squall. She loved the fact that she could hear people, even if they were not in the same room as her. "Idiot" she mumbled.

"Are you going to stand there for the majority of the time, or are you going to come in?" Squall called out. He thought that it was a bit awkward that he was doing whatever while she was at the door looking like a tool.

"Yeah, I guess so." Kairi chewed on her bottom lip as she managed to take a step forward, and followed Squall's scent to get to the kitchen.

"I am starting to think that you are one of those anti-social people" Squall commented as he placed the salmon, which was in a frying pan, on the stove.

Kairi snorted, and snickered. "Oh really, well you look to be the same."

Squall nearly burnt his hand after he listened to her reply. He didn't bother to say anything about her comeback.

Kairi grinned as she dropped her bag beside a chair, and sat down. "Your silence makes it really obvious that you ARE anti-social."

"Will you shut up?" Squall muttered as he gave her a glare, and then looked away. Kairi's grin faded once he told her to shut up. "You don't have to be so grumpy." She had no clue why his attitude suddenly changed. It made her confused.

"You're very annoying, you know that?" Squall told her as he glanced over his shoulder.

Kairi rolled her eyes. "You are too." She looked past him, and took a quick glance at the stove. She quietly sniffed the air and smelt that something wasn't right. "You idiot, you're burning my salmon!" She pointed over at the stove, and waved her hand around.

Squall swiftly turned his head around, and watched as the salmon bursted into flames. "Shit!" He grabbed onto the hand of the pan, dropped it in the sink because he burnt the palm of his hand, and his fingers, "Fuck!" he muffled under his breath. He turned the stove off, and then turned the sink faucet with his other hand, and let the water run over the salmon before putting his hand into the sink. "This is your fault!"

Silence filled the room after Squall made his complaint.

"Pfft, it was my fault?" Kairi got up from the chair, and walked over to Squall. "It is also your fault too!" She grabbed his wrist as she noticed that he was trying to take his hand out from under the water, and shoved it back in. "Keep your hand in there!"

Squall grinded his teeth together as he felt the water hit his burnt hand. "Will you keep your hands off of me?" he snapped.

"You really want to suffer, do you?" Kairi let go of his wrist, and backed away from him. "Fine then, don't accept my help. I don't care. I don't feel offended." She sighed, and headed back to the char she was sitting on before.

"No, I don't need your help." Squall removed his hand from the sink again, and stared at it. "Thanks for the pain!" he grumbled.

Kairi didn't answer as she leaned over so she could open her bag. She growled as she swatted her tail away multiple times as it tapped against the bag. It angered her how he ruined her food. She knew that he could have talked to her while he cooked. "You're lucky that I have stuff that could help you" she sighed as she pulled out a container that had ointment inside, and some white bandage. She got up from the chair again, and looked over at him. "You are also so lucky that I am being nice for once."

"Pfft, you do not sound nice." He turned away from her so his back was facing her.

"Stop being so stubborn!" Kairi snapped as she reached out to turn him around. "You are really pissing me off!" She set the bandage down on the counter, and started to apply the ointment onto his hand.

Squall looked down at his hand, and cursed under his breath as his hand started to burn once the ointment hit his hand.

"I will leave you the ointment with you since I have more. You will have to put it on your hand once a day. As for the bandage, you will have to buy some more. I need that stuff." She looked at him for a quick second before taking the wrap, and started to wrap it around his hand.

Squall continued to stare at his hand, and watched as Kairi as she finished wrapping his hand. "You must do this a lot."

Kairi nodded, and moved away from him. "Yup, I have to bandage up my arm all of the time." She walked over to her bag, and closed it before she picked it up. "Anyways, I am going to leave before you burn the house down, or any more food." She strolled over to the counter to take the bag with her tuna, and began to head to the front door.

"Um, bye." Squall felt like that was all he could say.

Kairi waved to him, and left. "That was very awkward" she whispered as she closed the door behind her. She thought back about what just happened, and started to wonder why she acted so nice. "That is not like me." She looked back at the door, and headed back to the inn so she could eat.

"Ah, peace and quiet." Kairi sighed as she walked into the room she was renting, and sat down on the bed. She dropped the bag that was full of her stuff, and kept the bag with the tuna. "Finally, I can eat." She reached into the bag, and pulled out the tuna, which was wrapped with some kind of paper. "This looks better than the salmon." She carefully pulled the paper, and took tiny chunks of the tuna, and ate it. Her ears twitched in joy everytime she ate another piece. "I better save this." She sighed as she covered the food back up. She knew that she had to portion her food or else she wouldn't have any more for when she was on the move. The sad thing was that the tuna doesn't last long. Frowning, she placed the tuna into the bag that she carried it in, and set it aside. The only things left that she could do as sit back, and enjoy the rest of the day.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"What should I do tonight?" Kairi asked herself with a sigh as she laid back on the bed. She stared at the ceiling, and then at the window. She frowned once she heard a lot of noise coming from outside. "Do they know how to shut up?" she muttered as she sat up, and got up off of the bed. "Do they understand that it is late out?" She frowned again as she approached the window, and looked down at the streets. "What are they doing?" She curiously watched as the citizens of the town crowded themselves into small groups, and talked in a worried manor. Some were holding pieces of paper that said 'MISSING'. It also had a picture of a girl with blonde hair, and cat ears. "Oh crap."

"Does this girl look familiar?" a woman asked as she showed the piece of paper to the person beside her.

"I think that I saw her today arguing with someone while she was buying something" the person replied.

"Why would someone want to look for her?" another person asked. "Look at her, she is a freak!"

Kairi's eyes turned hard after hearing the comments, and reading the poster. "Who the hell made those?" She curled her hands, pushed herself away from the window, and paced herself back and forth. She took a lot of time to think about who would want to cause all of the trouble for her. Once she came up with an answer, she stopped pacing, and began to growl loudly. "Cloud." She started to take deep breaths to try to calm herself down. "Why would he do this?" She sat on the head of the bed, and leaned over so her elbows on her knees, and her head in her hands.

It took a long time for her to clue in that she had to think of a plan to keep herself hidden or else someone was going to contact Cloud, and tell him where she is. All she could think of was to gather all of her things, and leave secretly. The only problems that she had was that people would probably notice her and Squall would possibly be looking for her too. "This is not good." That was all she could say.

BANG! BANG!

Kairi nearly fell off of the bed after she heard the two knocks upon her door. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It's Squall."

Kairi rose to her feet as quickly as she could, and rushed to the door. "What are you doing here?" she whispered as she opened the door.

Squall held up the piece of paper that everyone had been carrying around "What is up with this?" He raised an eyebrow.

Kairi glanced at the poster before grabbing Squall's arm, and pulled him in. "What is it to you?" She closed the door, and turned to him.

"I was just very curious about this after I saw everyone with them."

Kairi rolled her eyes, and placed her hands on her hips. "Well I don't know why I am a missing person." She felt bad that she was making up lies just to save her ass, but she knew that she had to do it. "I need to leave this place before people spot me out."

"Why would you want to do-"

"I don't want to be found!" Kairi snapped.

Squall stepped back from her, and shook his head. "Ok, calm down."

Kairi sighed and started to stuff her things into her bag. "I need to get out of here." She took a quick look at Squall before pulling out a long coat, which was long enough to cover her tail. "What is with that look?" she asked as she put the coat on. "Why is it that every time that I see you, you save my ass in some way?"

Squall shrugged, and shoved his hands into his pockets.

Kairi nodded, and grabbed her bag before picking up her gunblade. "Well, I am off." She walked towards the door, and stopped before opening it. "Do you mind pulling the coat hood over my head?"

Squall sighed, and did what he was asked. "You don't have to bother paying for the room. I guess someone already paid for it."

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Squall shrugged. "I don't know." He crossed his arms, and stared at her. "Everyone is going to notice you. Those ears are too obvious. You know people wouldn't notice who you are if you just take them off."

Kairi shook her head, and began to walk down the hall. "I can't."

"Wait!" Squall quickly walked up to her.

Kairi stopped, and glared at him. "What you just thought of a way to save my ass again? What did you think of this time? You're going to hide me in your house?"

Squall didn't respond to her right away. He knew that she took the words right out of his mouth. It made him feel like a creep for even thinking of an idea like that, but he was going to do it anyways. "Yeah, that is exactly what I was going to do" he admitted. His tone was serious.

Kairi could feel an awkward vibe between them. "Please tell me you were just joking around."

Squall shook his head in response.

Kairi turned away from him as quick as she could, and started to walk away. "You're insane."

Squall didn't hesitate to jump in. "Listen." He grabbed her arm with his good hand to stop her. "I did not mean for that to sound creepy. I could hide you until everyone forgets about the fact that you're a missing person."

Kairi didn't look at him. "Fine."

Squall nodded, and walked ahead of her. "Follow me then. I can try to keep you hidden."

Kairi watched him, and then started to follow. She didn't know how long she would last before someone end up finding her.

"Try not to act suspicious" Squall whispered to Kairi as they got to the entrance of the inn. "I don't want to make up a fake story."

"I will try" Kairi mumbled as she let out a small sigh.

Squall opened the door, and took a step outside. "Give me your gunblade. They will know that it is you if you are carrying it around." Squall glanced over his shoulder, and reached back so Kairi could hand him the gunblade.

Kairi sighed, and gave him the blade. "Can we make this quick? I don't want to be out here while people are still searching."

Squall nodded, and walked out into the panicked streets.

Kairi looked around as she followed him, and made it look like she was walking with him instead of stalking. She wished that she could throw a few punches at some people because they all stopped and stared for a few moments before returning to what they were doing. 'That was close' she said to herself in her head. She looked at the back of Squall's head, and tried to sense what was going on with him. She could feel that he was a bit tense, but he was ok with what he was doing. A small smile appeared on her face, but it soon vanished once she spotted someone up ahead that she swore she knew. "Squall, move faster" she hissed lowly as she jabbed a finger into his back.

"Why?" Squall turned his head to look at her.

Kairi pointed over at a guy who was dressed in black, and had spiky, blonde hair. "I know him, and I don't want him to see me."

Squall took a quick look over at the person that she was pointing at, and started to pick up the pace. "Who is he?" he asked.

"He is none of your concern. Just walk." She started at the blonde before ignoring him, and paid attention to the things in front of her. She felt as if something was caught in her throat because she knew that the person she saw was her brother, Cloud. 'Why is he here?' she mentally asked herself. It bothered her that he was out searching for her.

"Are you ok?" Squall asked. He was already at his front door.

Kairi nodded, and didn't make eye contact.

Squall frowned, and unlocked his door before walking in. "Come in before someone spots you."

Kairi examined her surroundings to see if she could see Cloud, but she didn't. "Ok." She sighed, and turned to the door, and went inside.

"So tell me, who was that guy?" Squall glared at Kairi as she closed the door, and pulled back the hood on her coat.

Kairi shook her head, placed her bag on the ground, and removed the coat. "I have already told you, it is none of your business!" She stuffed the cloak into her bag, and let out a loud sigh.

"It made me curious." Squall frowned. "It has to be serious if you wanted to leave that quickly."

Kairi walked over to him, and took her gunblade from his hand. "I just didn't want him to see me. He is just someone that I don't want to run into."

"He looks like you."

"End of discussion! Don't mention this again, or I will burn your other hand."

Squall gave her a blank glare, and turned away. "You need to control your need for violence" he muttered as he started to walk down the hallway. "By the way, you will be sleeping on the couch."

Kairi slightly rolled her eyes, and picked up the handle of her back. "Where can I put my stuff?"

Squall opened the door to a room, which was an empty closet. "Put them in here." He didn't bother to wait until she put her things into the closet. He just kept on walking.

Kairi nodded, and leaned the blade against the wall before placing the bag on the ground. "Men, they are fucking annoying" she whispered. She took out a baggy shirt, and a pair of shorts for her pyjamas, and closed the door. She moved away from the closet, and tried to find a bathroom so she could change. She wanted to ask Squall where it was, but she didn't want to get into another fight with him. "Great" she said to herself as she looked from left to right until she found the bathroom.

After changing into her pyjamas, she returned to the closet to she could put her clothes into her bag. "Should I stay here?" she asked herself as she slowly made her way to the living room. She still thought that it was awkward that she was staying at a stranger's house, who she was somewhat attracted to.

"You actually look half way normal" Squall commented. He was already in the living room, and was sitting in a chair.

Kairi looked at him, and raised an eyebrow. "Half way normal?" Don't you mean that I look, how do I put this, fully normal?" She sat on one of the couch ends, and crossed her legs on the cushion.

"No, you don't look normal. If you would just take away the ears and the tail, THEN you would look fully normal."

"I am not taking them off. They are a part of me." Kairi felt like she wanted to growl at him. She forced herself to not let her tail wish around because she didn't want him to wonder about anything.

"You must be one of those crazy cosplayers." Squall grinned.

Kairi shook her head, and sighed. She knew that she had to tell him about what she really was. "You want me to tell you something that might creep you out?"

Squall crossed his arms, and sighed. "What, you want to admit that you are a weirdo?"

Kairi shook her head again, and reached up to her long hair to move it away from the sides of her head where ears would normally be. "See, I don't have normal ears."

Squall squinted his eyes, and leaned closer to see if he was just seeing things. "What the hell?" He reached out to feel if she was telling the truth. Once he felt nothing, he pulled his hand back. "Why isn't there anything there? What the hell are you?"

Kairi let her hair fall, and smiled. "I was born this way" she answered. "I was told that I am called a Neko, or a cat demon."

Squall didn't say anything to her because he couldn't think of anything to say.

"I know that you are freaked out. I can feel it." Kairi smiled a bit more.

Squall shook his head, and rubbed his forehead. "You look too much like a cosplayer, but you're not." He didn't know how to react.

Kairi shrugged, and let out a loud yawn. "Anyways, I am tired. If you don't mind, you would please give me a pillow and blanket?"

Squall nodded, and quickly got up out of the chair. "Yeah." He didn't bother to make eye contact once he left.

Kairi watched him leave, and frowned after. She felt really upset that she didn't get the right reaction from him. She now that that he wouldn't talk to her, or even look at her the same way. "Great Kairi" she sighed as she stared at the ground. "Now I would definitely have to hide myself."

"Here." Squall came back into the room, and threw her the blanket and pillow. He gave a small wave, and left the room again.

Kairi sighed, and pushed the blanket off of her. She moved down the couch, and placed the pillow at the end before lying down. Once she saw the lights turn off, she curled up into a ball with the blanket on top of her. "This is going to suck" she whispered to herself. She slowly closed her eyes, and tried to fall asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next morning, Kairi was sitting on the couch, hugging her legs. She was thinking about everything that happened the previous night. "Wonder what would of happened if Cloud had found me?" she said to herself as she moved her hair away from her face. Her ears flattened against her head in shame. "He would have had my head for sure." She let out a small laugh, and stared at the ceiling. "I shouldn't of told Squall about what I really am. It was too soon." She lowered her head so she wasn't looking at the ceiling and turned to glance over the couch. Her ears twitched once she heard footsteps. "Hello?" Her face turned a light shade of pink as she watched Squall come into her view. He was only wearing his black jeans, and had no shirt on.

Squall stopped after he heard Kairi speak to him. He ran a hand through his wet hair since he had just got out of the shower. "Since when you were awake?" he asked.

Kairi didn't respond because she was too busy blushing. "Uh." She turned away from him, and shrugged once she clued in that he was talking to her. "I woke up about ten minutes ago."

"I am shocked that you are even up" Squall told her. "You talk in your sleep a lot." He began to walk down the hall so he could get to his room.

Kairi got off of the couch, and frowned. "I do not!" She walked towards the hall, and looked in Squall's direction. "Do you mind-"

"The bathroom is that way" Squall said before Kairi could finish her sentence. He looked over his shoulder, and pointed down the other side of the hall.

Kairi blinked, and turned around to glance down the other hall. "Umm, ok then." She nodded, and headed to the closet where she put her luggage so she could get a change of clothes. She was a bit shocked that he somehow knew what she was going to ask. "Well that was awkward" she told herself as she opened the door to the closet, and grabbed her clothes from her backpack. She let out a small sigh, and closed the door, and walked to the bathroom so she could get dressed.

~Squall's POV~

Squall ran a hand through his damp hair, and let out a sigh as he entered his room. "She is a weird one" he said to himself as he wandered around to find a shirt that he could wear. A frown appeared on his face once he noticed that his room was messy, and it was impossible for him to find a shirt for him to wear. "I really need to learn to clean more often" he muttered as he kicked a few things around until he found a half decent shirt that he could wear. He picked up a white t-shirt, and examined it to see if it was suitable to wear before putting it on. After he put on the shirt, he began to think about what he was going to do about Kairi. He didn't know whether to let her stay a while longer, or just help her get out of the town without her brother finding her. He was also a bit paranoid about what would happen if someone came over, and saw her. "Ugh, this is going to be difficult." He shook his head, and walked out of his room.

~Kairi's POV~

Kairi stared at herself in the mirror, and took her time to run her fingers through her hair. It was different for her to actually spend some time in one place, and to have time to take care of herself. It was hard for her to so such a thing while always being on the move. The feeling of being clean made her feel happy, and secure, but she didn't know how long that feeling was going to last. "Huh, I didn't know that my hair was that soft" she said to herself as she managed to smile. She lowered her arms, and let herself gaze into the mirror for a few more moments before picking up her night clothes, and leaving the bathroom. Thoughts cluttered her mind as she made her way back to the closet to put away her clothes, but she didn't take the time to think about what was going through her head. "Why do I have a feeling that something is going to happen today?" she asked herself as she stuffed her clothes into her bag, and backed out of the closet. Her eyes widened, and she let out a loud gasp once she felt someone bump into her. "What the?" She swiftly moved around, and swung her hand back to hit whatever ran into her, but someone blocked her hit.

"Jumpy much?" Squall asked as he raised an eyebrow at her.

Kairi's face turned pale as she turned her head to look at him. "No, I always go into defensive mode at a moment like this."

Squall let out a small laugh, and shook his head. "You are odd you know that?" He let go of her hand, and crossed his arms.

Kairi tried not to let herself blush because she didn't want to show a weak spot. "Yeah, well you are odd too." She frowned, and gave him a look as if she didn't care about what he said to her.

Squall rolled his eyes, and looked away from her. "Yeah, whatever." He took a few moments to think before looking back at her. "Oh, I forgot to tell you something. If someone comes over here, hide."

Kairi opened her mouth to say something, but Squall interrupted her.

"I know that you are going to ask why, so I will tell you now. The missing flyers of you are still roaming around here, so hiding is the best thing you can do if you don't want your brother to find you."

Kairi didn't respond to his explination right away. She didn't like the idea of hiding from other people, but she knew that she had to do it to keep herself from getting into trouble. "Fine" she muttered as she looked away from him with an angry look on her face.

Squall slightly grinned, and snickered at her attitude, but it soon disappeared once he heard a knock on the door.

"Hey Squall, are you in there?" asked a male voice.

Kairi quickly turned back to Squall. "Who is that?"

Squall didn't bother to respond. He imedietly started to push Kairi towards the living room. "Hurry up, get in there!" he silently whispered.

"Hey, stop pushing!" Kairi hissed. "You're not going to hide me this way!"

Squall nodded, and stopped. "Yeah, you're right" he agreed as he tripped her, and stuffed her under the couch once they got into the room.

"What the hell?" Kairi whined. She snarled at him as she tried to get herself comfortable under the couch, which was imposible because she felt too cramped.

"Keep quiet" Squall told her as he pushed her tail so it didn't show. "I will tell you when you can come back out." He let out a loud sigh, and left the room.

~Squall's POV~

"Yeah, I'm coming!" Squall yelled out as he walked into the kitchen, and to the door. He was frustrated over the fact that whoever was at the door, didn't know when to stop knocking. He reached for the doorknob, and opened the door. Once the door was opened, he frowned once he saw someone he knew standing at the doorway. "What do you want Irvine?"

"I see that you're grumpy as always" Irvine commented.

"Well that answered my question."

"Pfft, can't a friend check up on you once in a while? Everyone has wondered where the hell you were for the last couple of days. "

"And they sent you?"

Irvine shrugged. "Somebody had to." He walked into the house, which pushed Squall out of the way. "We think that you are hiding something."

Squall rolled his eyes, and closed the door. "Why would I hide something?" he asked. "Can't I take a break from people?"

"Yeah, but not for anti-social fools like you." Irvine examined the place very carefully. "So, what are you hiding?"

Squall's frustration started to rise. "I am not hiding anything." His body tensed up, and his face went pale once he heard a noise that came in the direction of the living room. He became a bit paranoid after watching Irvine glancing around the room with a confused look on his face.

"What was that?"

Squall shrugged. "I don't know." He made sure that he looked like he didn't really care about what the noise was.

Irvine raised an eyebrow at him, and then started to walk in the direction of the noise.

"Something must of fell in there" Squall said as he followed him. "Things tend to do that around here."

Irvine shook his head. "It didn't sound like something fell." He scratched the side of his head as he entered the living room, and looked around.

Squall silently cursed to himself under his breath as he continued to follow Irvine. He also examined the room to make sure nothing suspicious was going on. "Crap" he muttered as he noticed that Kairi's tail was in view, and was swishing back and forth. "Look, if you just came here to see if I was still living, then go. I'm still living."

Irvine didn't respond to him. He kept walking around the room without paying attention, and stepped on Kairi's tail.

~Kairi's POV~

Kairi let out a loud gasp once she felt someone step on her tail, and put their full weight on it. Her imediet reaction was letting out a loud growl, and reach out from under the couch to grab the person's ankle. "Get off my fucking tail!" she shouted. Her eyes flashed a bright red as she dug her nails into the ankle of the person who stepped on her.

Irvine quickly stepped off of the tail, and looked down at Kairi. "Who the hell is that?" he asked as he pointed at Kairi, and then checked his ankle to see if it was bleeding or not.

Squall grumbled, and then sighed. "That is someone who is none of your concern" he answered as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Nobody? That thing just attacked me!"

Kairi growled as she pulled herself out from under the couch, and rose to her feet. "Watch where you're walking!" she snapped at Irvine as she held onto her tail, and checked to see if it was ok. She gently pet the fur, and then looked back at the two.

Irvine stared at Kairi for a few moments before looking at Squall. "Is this what you're hiding?" he asked.

Squall just simply shrugged.

"Huh, so that is why you have been gone. You've been hiding a prostitute!"

Squall's face flushed from embaressment, but he also looked like he was very pissed.

Kairi's eyes widened, and her jaw nearly dropped. "Excuse me asshole, I am NOT a whore!"

Irvine laughed, and shook his head. "Sure." He examined the clothes she was wearing, which was just a black tanktop, and black skinny jeans that fit close enough for her to show off her curves. "I don't know Squall. Nobody just hides someone who dresses in tight clothes and has cat ears and a tail for a sexy decoration. "

"Irvine, shut up!" Squall warned. He didn't know whether to punch him out, or let Kairi do the work.

Irvine laughed, but his happy look changed once Kairi slapped him across the face. "Think before you talk you idiot!"

Silence filled the room until Irvine decided to say something once again. "Hey, why does she look familiar?" he asked Squall.

"You don't even know her" Squall told him. "Why would she look familiar?"

Kairi bit her bottom lip after Squall spoke because she had a feeling that he noticed her from the missing flyers.

Irvine looked over at Squall, and pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. "I swear I have seen her face somewhere before." He opened the folded paper, and looked at it before showing Squall. "Doesn't she look like her?" he asked.

Squall looked at the paper, and then at Kairi. "Nope." He sighed.

Kairi frowned at them, and snatched the piece of paper from Irvine's hand. "Stop acting like you don't know anything" she told Squall as she ripped the paper in half. "I don't think you can hide anything from him."

Irvine blinked, and laughed. "I knew it! She IS a prositiute!"

Squall raised one of his hands and hit the side of his head. "Shut up, she isn't a prostitute!"

Irvine slowly nodded, and sighed. "Alright then, she isn't." His facial expression then turned serious. "Then answer this question. Why are you hiding someone that has her face on missing posters, which is flying all over town?"

Squall didn't know how to respond to that question. He didn't even know how to answer himself when he asks the same question out loud. "I don't know."

"He is just helping me, is that a problem?" Kairi asked as she jumped into the conversation.

Irvine turned to Kairi, and shrugged. "That is ok, I guess, but this isn't something that Squall would do."

Kairi blinked, and slowly moved her eyes so she was staring at Squall, who wasn't really paying attention. "Well, it isn't like me to accept someone's help."

"Well, the situation must be serious if he decided to keep you here."

Squall crossed his arms. "Just keep your mouth shut about this. I don't want to put up with people bugging me about this."

Irvine raised his hands to show that he won't do anything. "I won't tell anyone."

Squall gave a slight nod. "Ok, now can you leave?"

Irvine noticed that Squall still did not look that impressed. "Fine, fine!" he sighed as he began to leave the living room.

Squall watched Irvine as he left the room, and waited to hear the door close before he said anything. "That shouldn't of happened."

"Well, it did happen" Kairi sighed as she sat down on the couch. "Get over it."

"If you would of just stayed still none of this would of happened!"

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "Well how would you feel if you were stuffed under a couch that had no room for you to move?" she asked. "It isn't a good feeling."

Squall shrugged. "Well I had to put you somewhere!"

Kairi rolled her eyes, and glanced away. "Well, at least it wasn't my brother who showed up at the door. I have a feeling that he is still out there going to every house to see if anyone ran into me." She lowered her head, and let out a sigh. She knew that Cloud had to still be in the town because she could sense him from afar. It made her a bit uneasy knowing that the one who is looking for her could be right around the corner. "I will have to be extra careful next time."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

~Cloud's POV~

Cloud frowned as he stared at a crumpled piece of paper that he held in his hands. "So, she is somewhere around here" he said to himself as he stared at the picture that was on the middle of the paper. It was Kairi. For a couple of months, he had taken the time to go out, and to look for his sister. He felt like it was a stressful few months, but he became a bit relieved after he entered the town, and was told that there were people who had seen her around, but they didn't know where exactly. "Hopefully she is still here." He let out a long sigh, and looked around to think about where he should start looking. The last place that he remembers looking was the hotel, but he was told by the person at the head desk that she had checked out early, and left with someone, which didn't make him too impressed. It made him feel worried, but a bit afraid to think about what Kairi could be doing because he knew the damage that she could do on things, and even people. "I don't want to know what she could be doing right now" he said to himself as he got up from the bench he was sitting on, and began to wander in a random direction. He wanted to get a head start on looking for her before it got too dark.

~Kairi's POV~

Kairi twirled a long strand of her hair around a finger as she wandered up and down a hall while snacking on an energy bar that she found at the very bottom of her bag. Ever since Irvine left, she could feel that something else was going to happen. "He better not come here" she said to herself as she continued to wander around the same hall. She bit down on her bottom lip as her tail contently moved around on its own, and tapped against the walls.

"Are you done walking back and forth?" asked Squall as he leaned against a wall. "You are starting to give me a headache."

Kairi stopped pacing herself, and turned her head to look at him. "I can't help it!" she hissed. "I can sense that my brother is not too far from here, and he is heading this way. He must of found out that I am somewhere around here, so he won't leave here until I am found!"

Squall sighed in frustration. "Did I already tell you that I would keep you hidden until he leaves here?" he said as he frowned. "Stop freaking out over things!"

"Well I can't help it!" Kairi threw her hands in the air. "It is obvious that I want to keep myself away from him, so I am doing everything that I can to stay away. I have the right to freak over stuff like this!" Kairi turned away, and stared out a nearby window. A cautious look appeared across her face as she noticed someone walking down the street from afar. She slowly inhaled to pick up the person's scent, and then exhaled. "Shit!" she growled.

"What is it now?" Squall walked up to her, and glanced out of the window to see what she was looking at. "Isn't that your brother?"

Kairi rolled her eyes, and elbowed him in the stomach. "Stop trying to act like a smartass!" She backed away from the window, and ventured down the hall. "I need to hide."

"Why would you do that?" Squall showed a sign of slight pain from her hitting him. "He probably won't even show up here. You really need to learn how to think before you act."

"Oh will you just shut up!" Kairi was getting sick and tired of him always telling her that. "You are really starting to sound like my brother!" She looked back at him, but then turned her gaze down the hall. "I think he is here!" she whispered.

"What makes you think th-"

Kairi raised a hand in the air to shush him. "Shut up for a few seconds!" Her ears slightly twitched, and then she took a run towards a closet after hearing a knock on the door. "It's him!"

"Stop trying to act dumb, Kairi!" Squall said a few things under his breath as he watched Kairi throw herself into a closet, and close the door behind her. "You know you are just embarrassing yourself right now."

"Just answer the door!" Kairi snapped.

"Ok!" Squall sighed as he walked down the hall to get to the kitchen. He knew that it was going to be very awkward to talk to her brother since he had to lie, and say that he has not seen Kairi anywhere. "Hello?" he greeted after he opened the door only to see a tall blonde guy standing at the door.

~Cloud's POV~

Cloud sighed as he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, and began to unfold it once he heard someone approach the door, and open it.

"Hi?" the guy at the door said.

Cloud didn't bother to say why he was at his house. He turned the piece of paper around, and showed him the picture. "Have you seen this person?" he asked as he pointed at the picture of his sister. "I have heard rumors that she has been around here. Is that ture?"

The person stared at the picture, and took a few moments before answering. "Nope, I haven't seen that crazy cat cosplaying person" he said as he shook his head. "And if I have, I would have already forgotten about her."

Cloud sighed as he turned the picture around to look at it. "A lot of people told me that they saw her with someone, and you fit the description that I got." He looked up, and noticed the uneasy look that was on the guy's face.

"You got the wrong person."

Cloud simply nodded, and folded the piece of paper up before he placed it in his pocket. "Ok, well, thanks anyways." He scratched the back of his head, and let out another sigh before backing away from the door, and walked away from the house. The expression on this face didn't look too happy.

~Kairi's POV~

Kairi stayed as quiet as possible as listened to the conversation between Squall and her brother. She frowned as a mixture of emotions took over her. She didn't know whether to feel guilty for running off, or to feel irritated by the fact that Cloud is not giving up his search for her. The frowned soon turned into an emotionless expression as she heard Squall saying things about her. She wasn't too impressed with him.

"That idiot" she mumbled under her breath as she hugged her legs. The atmosphere inside the closet was very dry, and it seemed that there was starting to get lack of oxygen. She slowly closed her eyes, and lowered her head. "Hurry up Squall." She ran a hand through her head, and soon raised her head once she heard the door close. "About time!" She got up from the ground, and quietly opened the door to see if it was safe to go out. "Can I come out?"

"Yeah, he left" Squall responded.

Kairi sighed in relief as she opened the door more, and walked out of the closet. "Good!" She closed the door behind her, and then turned to Squall with an unimpressed look on her face.

"What is with that look?" Squall asked as he returned the look. "I made sure that your brother didn't find out about you. Is that all you wanted?"

"Yes, I am glad that you managed to keep him from knowing, but I am not happy about what you said about me." She lunged towards him to punch him, but Squall swiftly reached out, and grabbed her wrist.

"I don't know if you knew, but he seemed a bit upset once I told him that I never saw you around" Squall told her as he frowned.

Kairi gazed at the wrist that he caught, and then turned her eyes to him. "I don't care" she murmured as she tried to pull her wrist out of his grasp. "I am trying to get away from him, but he won't stop looking for me! I just want to be left alone!"

"I don't believe that" Squall muttered.

"Can you just let me go?" Kairi wanted to change the subject before she got even angrier.

Squall tightened the grip around her wrist. The look on his face showed that he was annoyed with her actions, and the way she was answering his questions. "Why? What is the reason why you keep running?" He was curious.

Kairi's ears slightly fell against her head after she listened to the question that she was given. She didn't know if she could keep anything a secret whenever she is around him. "Why do you want to know so much?" she asked as she continued to try to get him to let go of her wrist.

"Because I am wondering why I am holding a complete stranger in my house, who is running away from wherever, and seems to be hiding something."

Kairi looked away from him, and tried not to let out a growl as her tail started to whip itself back and forth. "Can you let me go?" she asked again as she managed to keep a calm voice.

"Will you tell me just the basics of why you are hiding from your brother?"

"No!"

"Then I won't let go until you agree to tell me."

Kairi bit her bottom lip, and tried not to growl. She opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't. She just came to the realization that she was closer to him that she wanted to be. "Fine, I will tell you! Can you let me go now?"

Squall took a few moments to think about whether to let her go or not since he didn't know if she was lying, or she was telling the truth. "Really?"

Kairi nodded. "Yes!"

Squall frowned in frustration, and let go of her wrist.

Kairi glared at Squall before walking over to the table, and sat down on one of the chairs. "I hate it when people force answers out of me" she said to Squall as she folded her arms against her chest. She looked up at Squall, and didn't bother to wait for him to say something before she told him her story.

"The reason why I ran away from wherever I am from is because of my brother. He is too overprotective when it comes to me, and it is starting to become a royal pain in my ass. "

"Is that it?" Squall asked as she raised an eyebrow. He had expected for her to have a longer story then that. "What did you do for him to get like that? There has to be some reason."

Kairi gave Squall a stare that told him to shut up so she could finish. "For as long as I could remember, Cloud was very protective when it came to me. I don't know if it was because of my cat features, or if it was because of something else. He was the one who raised me ever since I was a child, and there was so much that happened to me, so I could see why he would do everything to make sure that I am alright. He told me that he would do whatever to keep me away from a guy named Sephiroth, who is my father." Kairi took a short pause so she can regain her thoughts before continuing.

"What made Cloud want to make you stay away from your father?" Squall became curious.

Kairi shrugged in response. "I don't know. I have been trying to figure that out for a while, but I haven't found any answers. " Kairi uncrossed her arms, and reached up to brush her hair away from her face. "When I was younger, I was kidnaped by three people that went by the names of Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz. Don't ask me why because that was something that I could never understand. I stayed with them since I didn't know the way back home. Every day I hoped that Cloud would be out there looking for me, but once a few weeks had passed, I had my doubts. "Kairi stopped talking, and shook her head. "I don't know why you want to know all of this. There were just too many things that happened to me."

"Fine, just get down to the main reason why your brother is out looking for you."

Kairi slowly nodded as she fiddled around with long strands of her hair. "Whenever I decided to go out, Cloud would make sure that he knew where I was going. Every time that I tried to refuse to tell him where I was going, he would bug me until I told him, or he would make sure that he contacted people that he knows to keep an eye on me. I am not a child anymore! I am eighteen years old!" She let out a sigh, and glanced at the ground. "I didn't want to put up with him anymore, and the girl that he lives with, who is a bitch, so I thought that it was time for me to get out. At first I was just going to go out for a walk, and let my anger cool, but the more that I started to think, the more I came to the conclusion that I needed to get away. That night, I packed up the basics things that I needed, and left. It has been over a week since I left home."

Silence filled the room once Kairi finished explaining why she ran away from home, which made the two feel awkward.

"So that is why you get all snappy when you see, or hear about your brother" Squall finally said as he tried to break the quietness between them. By this time he was leaning against one of the counters with his arms crossed.

"Yeah, that is why. Don't worry; you will not have to put up with me any longer. I will be out of here once there is no sign of Cloud." Kairi placed an elbow down on the table, and rested the side of her head in her hand.

"That sounds like a great idea, but it seems to me that you don't plan things out." Squall shook his head, and rubbed his forehead.

Kairi frowned at him. "What do you mean? I do plan things out!"

"I don't think that you are. Where do you plan on going after you leave?"

Kairi looked away, and shrugged. "I don't know. I will just wander around until I find a suitable place to stay. I just want to get far away from Cloud."

"I am going to tell you something, and you are not going to like it" Squall said as he uncrossed his arms. "You are going to get nowhere by running away. You are just going to make things a lot worse than they are now."

The expression on Kairi's face was unimpressed. "Really?" She slightly rolled her eyes. "Do you really think that?"

Squall nodded in response. "Yes, I do think that. It seems that you are hiding because you don't like the fact that there is someone out there that actually cares about you. I may not know who this Cloud guy is, but I think that he will eventually find you." He let out a sigh, and gave Kairi a serious stare. "You have better listened to that because you won't hear me say anything like that again."

Kairi turned so her attention was back to Squall. "You didn't have to say anything" she told him. Her voice shook with a tint of anger in her tone. "I can deal with this problem on my own." Her ears flattened against her head as she rose from the chair she was sitting in, and began walking towards the nearest window. "I will be so glad when I can finally go back outside. I think that I would go completely insane by staying inside all the time."

"I am not forcing you to stay inside you know. It was your choice to stay in here until your brother has left the town. If you want to go out, you can. I am not stopping you" Squall said as he managed to let out a small chuckle. "But if you get caught, it isn't going to be my fault."

Kairi stood at the window, and didn't bother to say anything to what Squall just said. She knew that he was right about her choosing to stay inside, and not go out until there were no traces of Cloud. The thought of staying inside with Squall all of the time made her shiver. She wanted to go outside very badly, and she knew that she was going to make it happen.

Finally, she spoke.

"I know that you are not stopping me" she said as she glanced over her shoulder. "I will eventually go outside, but under one condition."

Squall raised an eyebrow. "Which is?"

A smile slowly appeared across Kairi's face. "You will have to come with me."

Right then, Squall's curious expression turned blank.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A week had gone by, and Kairi still hid herself in Squall's house. Squall had told her that Cloud was still around the town because people kept telling him that they had seen her around, which made Kairi angry for two reasons. One, Squall went outside without her, and made her stay inside, and second, Cloud was still roaming about. Those two issues bothered Kairi, and it created more arguments between her and Squall.

"Why is it that YOU get to go outside, but not me?" Kairi asked as she stared at Squall in disgust. "I thought that we made a deal that I can go out as long as you are out there with me so I don't look suspicious!"

Squall sighed, and massaged his forehead with the tips of his fingers to try to get rid of a sudden headache. "I thought that I told you that I will do that once your brother is out of here!" he muttered as he looked up from the ground to glare at her. "You really need to learn how to listen."

Kairi placed on her hips as she felt her ears fall against her head. "And I thought that I told you that I can just hide myself once I see Cloud come into view!"

"There is no way for you to hide those ears and tail of yours. If I don't recall, we tried hiding those things many times. I don't want to get hit in the face with that tail again."

Kairi frowned, and walked down the hall to get to the living room. "UGH, you are so frustrating!" she snapped as she entered the room, flopped herself down on the sofa, and crossed her arms.

"So are you!"

Kairi ran her fingers through her hair, took a deep breath, and exhaled so she could calm herself down. She was getting very sick and tired of being stuck inside the house for almost two weeks, even though it gave her time to develop the relationship between her and Squall. She didn't like getting too close to people because she was scared that she would take a liking to them. She was also afraid that she might fall for Squall, but she started to think that it was too late for him. There were times where she was so shy around him, and she got mad at herself for acting that way.

"Asshole" Kairi hissed as she brought her legs close to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. "He is stealing all the fun from me." She pouted, and rested her chin on her knees. "I need my freedom!"

"Are you going to sit there all day and complain?"

Kairi lifted her head, and looked at Squall as he entered the room. "Well, I am pissed off at you. I need fresh air!"

"What would you do outside?" Squall asked in a serious tone. "Where would you go?"

Kairi gave him a blank stare, and slightly growled. "Don't question me Squall. I haven't thought that far yet."

Squall shook his head, and sighed. "How many times have I told you to think ahead, and not just do things without planning? It isn't going to get you anywhere."

Kairi rolled her eyes, and glanced away. "Can we talk about something else besides this? Obviously arguing over this all day isn't going help me any."

"Yes" Squall immediately answered as he sighed again. "I am sick and tired of listening to you nag and ignoring everything that I say."

A small smile swiped across Kairi's face. "Aw come on, you know that you kind of like it. I can sense these kinds of things."

Squall could feel his face heat up as soon as Kairi made that comment. His body slightly tensed up, but he shook it off. "Ok, I think that is the end of that conversation" he said after he cleared this throat. He quickly shook his head, and turned around to walk out of the room. "Anyways, I am going to go out to take a look around to see if your brother is still in town. I am getting a bit annoyed with your complaining."

Kairi frowned, and rose from the sofa. "Not fair!"

Squall stopped walking, and looked over his shoulder. "What isn't fair?"

Kairi rested her hands on her hips. "I want to go outside!"

"Well, you can once your brother isn't in town!" Squall rolled his eyes, and continued to walk. He left before Kairi could say anything else to him.

Kairi felt like she was frozen in the standing position that she was in. Her hands clenched into fists as she could feel the anger and frustration rush over her. She was annoyed at the fact that she still couldn't go outside. Even though she had the freedom to do so, she didn't feel like it was right.

"That asshole" she mumbled as she folded her arms against her chest. "The nerve of him!" She lightly stomped one of her feet on the ground, and finally began to leave the room to make her way to the closet that her belongings were in. "I am going to go outside whether he likes it or not! He can't do anything about it!" She smiled, opened the closet door, and pulled out her long, black cloak. She didn't think that the cloak would do her any good since it would make her look a tad bit suspicious, but it was the only way that she could hide her tail. The hood would easily hide her ears, but she thought that she had enough hair on her head to hide them.

After ten to fifteen minutes of fiddling around with her hair, Kairi finally left the house for the first time in almost two weeks.

~Squall's POV~

"Why am I even doing this?" Squall asked himself in a low, annoyed tone as he aimlessly wandered around the crowded town. He started to think that it was a waste of time for him to keep searching to see if Kairi's brother was still around. He didn't think that it was his job to do so, but he did it anyways since he was getting tired of hearing Kairi complain. "She should be the one to be looking around, not me."

It hadn't been that long since he left the house, and he was already starting to give up on the searching. For several days since he had been going outside, and spending some time looking, but to him, it felt like he was searching for years, and hadn't got any results. He thought that it was completely stupid that he had to do all of this all because Kairi did not want to see her brother, nor did she want him to find her. He knew that he could just find Cloud, and tell him where Kairi was, but he knew that she would go savage on him if he did. He enjoyed it when she got mad at him for no reason at all, but he started think that if he did tell Cloud, he would have witness how hurt she would be, and he didn't want to feel the guilt because of his stupidity.

"Well, this is going to be a waste of my time" Squall mumbled. He let out a long sigh, and made his way further into the crowd.

~Kairi's POV~

Kairi bit down on her bottom lip as she stepped out of the house, and closed the door behind her. She began to wonder if it was a good idea to go out on her own since she didn't know how long the cloak she was wearing would hide her ears and tail. The thought it would be a pain if someone spotted her, and told Cloud, but it wasn't her fault that she wanted to be outside for fresh air. Sitting in front of an open window wasn't enough for her.

"I almost forgot what fresh air smells like" Kairi whispered to herself as she inhaled the air, and exhaled. She smiled a she adjusted the cloak of her hood, and began to walk away from the house. For a few moments, she could feel how free she was as her feet took her wherever they wanted her to take her. It reminded her of when she was on the run, but at the time she was running for a reason. This time, she had a reason to wander, but she was still limited to where she could go.

Recently, she was told by Squall that there was something or someone besides Cloud was looking for her. Whenever she would ask, he wouldn't give her an answer because he didn't know any more details. Whatever was looking for her, she knew that she had to take extra precaution if she was to walk around Squall's house since people could easily see what was going on inside if the blinds were open.

"Why is everyone after me?" Kairi sighed as she reached up to brush a few strands of her hair, but she lowered her arm after remembering that she had a hood over her head, and it will slip off the moment that a finger touched the thin fabric.

"I have to watch every move I make when I am out in public. I shouldn't have to do that!" She folded her arms against her chest, and watched as citizens of the town hurried around to do whatever they had to do. A few stopped, and stared at her as she walked by them. The looks on their faces confused Kairi since they were a mixture of curiosity, and fright. She didn't know whether the cloak indicated that they saw her before, or it was all new to them.

"What is with these people?" Kairi muffled under her breath. "I swear they all have staring problems. I always get the same damn stares!" She turned her head away from them so she wasn't paying attention to anyone, and decided that she was going to try to a spot where there wasn't much people around. She thought that she would feel much safer and less awkward if she was alone.

~Squall's POV~

Squall frowned as he continued to wander around the town, and tried to gather information about whether anyone knew if Cloud was still around. All he knew so far was that he was, and he didn't look too happy. He thought that eventually, he would get mad enough that he would give up and leave, but he had been predicting that for a while, and so far, his prediction wasn't right.

"This is going to be a pain in my ass until he is gone" Squall muttered as he stopped in his tracks, and gazed around the center of the town, which was where the market was. "I still don't know why one girl would bring me so much trouble." He frowned some more, and then realized that all he had been doing that day, was thinking, and complaining about her. It wasn't like him to think about one person for most of the day. Just the thought of it scared him, which sent shivers down his spine. At that moment, he wondered if he would stop thinking about her if she finally left, and let him think of other things.

"I need to stop this" he sighed as he rubbed his forehead, and gazed at the ground. Everything was now giving him one major headache, and it seemed like it would be one that would not go away. "I will be glad when this is over." He raised his head a few moments after, and slightly squinted once he saw a blonde headed figure up ahead, that wore all black. At first, he thought it was Kairi, which almost made him want to go up, and hide her in another place, but he soon changed his mind when he noticed that the person's hair was spiked. It was Cloud.

"So, those people weren't lieing when they told me that he was still around." Squall watched him to see if he was heading in the direction of his house, but Cloud wasn't even moving. He became a bit curious once he noticed Cloud staring in a certain direction with an angry expression on his face, but it also had a hint of relief. His eyes moved to where Cloud was staring, and he cursed under his breath once he saw a hooded figure that looked too familiar.

"Kairi" he grumbled.

~Kairi's POV~

Kairi let out a low growl as she started at Cloud with hate in her eyes. Her body tensed up while her hands quickly curled up into tight fists. She could feel her body feel slightly numb from shivering with intense anger.

"What are you doing here?" she said as she grinded her teeth together. She tried to sound as if she didn't know what was going on at all. "I thought that I told you to leave me the hell alone!"

She took a deep breath as she paid attention to how Cloud was glaring on her. She could feel that he was relieved that he finally found her, but she also sensed that he wasn't too impressed with her.

"Is this where you've been all this time?" Cloud asked as he calmly crossed his arms, and slightly raised an eyebrow at her. He didn't want to start flooding her with questions until they were in a closed environment, and had most of the control. He didn't like the feeling of bystanders standing around them, and listen to every word that they say.

"Why do you want to know?" Kairi asked as she kept flexing her hands. They would constantly stretch, and curl into fists. "You don't need to know my every move. You don't need to know EVERYTHING I do!" She turned her head away from him, and focused on the many people that would stop and stare at them. She could feel a swarm of anger, and rage rush over her, which made her have the urge to attack anyone that gets in her way.

"Do you have any clue how long I have been looking for you?" Cloud asked. He was getting annoyed by the tone of voice his sister was giving him. "You're lucky that I care because I spent days and nights without sleep searching for you." He looked around the area before turning back to Kairi. "Can we go somewhere else where we can talk about this?"

Kairi let out a frustrated sigh, and folded her arms against her chest. She didn't want to talk to him about anything because she didn't want him to try to take her back to Midgar. All she wanted to do was to turn around, and run off as fast as she could so he wouldn't catch up to her.

"I would like it better if we don't talk about anything at all!" Kairi finally answered. She gave him one final glare before bolting down the road while pushing a few people out of her way. She could feel a few tears build up every time she looked back to see if Cloud was following her. All she could see was people glancing back at her as she ran past them, which gave her a sense of relief. She was thrilled at the fact that Cloud gave up on her. Now she could be free at last.

"Kairi!"

Kairi felt her ears perk up, which made her hood slip off of her head. She immediately could smell the scent of Squall, who was a few feet ahead of her.

"What do you want?" she snapped as she came to a complete stop once she was almost inches from Squall. "Yeah, I know what you are going to ask why the hell I left the house, well, here is your answer. I came to the realization that I felt like I was trapped inside that house even though it was my idea."

Squall didn't even bother to listen to what she had to tell him since he had already known that for a while. He felt like he shouldn't have brought the subject up at the time because she would freak at him.

"What are you going to do now since he found you?" he asked.

"I don't know!" Kairi responded as she threw her hands in the air, and walked around him so she could make her way towards the nearest alleyway. "I will definitely have to find a way to get out of here without him noticing."

Squall watched her walk away from him, and began to follow. "In my opinion, I think that is a stupid thing to do since he already knows that you are here."

Kairi glanced over her shoulder to take once quick peek at him before turning away. "Like I said, I will just have to leave quickly as possible!" Her voice slightly rose as she curled her hands into fists. At that moment, she could feel her anger explode inside of her as if it was a time bomb that just ran out of time. She forgot what it was like to be that angry. She was so unaware of herself, that she didn't notice that her whole body was shaking.

"Are you going to be ok?" Squall continued to stare at Kairi, and began to wonder what was going on. He could hear growling sounds come from Kairi, which didn't give him a good feeling.

"NO!" Kairi spun around, and ended up punching the brick wall beside her. She was unaware that her eyes glowed blood red, and she was showing her fangs as she snarled. "Do you expect me to be ok?" Her ears twitched, and her tail swooshed around furiously as she slowly began to make tiny steps towards Squall. "I thought that I have finally escaped from my brother, but no, he just had to come and find me, and succeed!" She took a deep breath, and could sense that something inside her head was telling her to attack Squall, and finish him off while she was still there.

Squall raised an eyebrow as he tried to figure out what was going on with Kairi. He had never seen her get that mad, or saw how she acts when she gets to the highest peak of anger. He felt that all he could do was to keep his grip around the handle of his Gunblade, which he brought with him, and try to keep himself from getting harmed.

"You are overreacting!" he told her as he took a few steps back. He didn't know whether to act calm, or yell at her. At that moment, he didn't really know what to do.

Kairi smirked, and began to laugh as she kept taking baby steps. "Overreacting? Pfft, I am not overreacting. If only you know how I feel about this situation. You would feel the same way as I would." She raised one of her hands to look at her sharp claws before turning her attention back to Squall. She felt like she was a furious cat that was about to play with her prey before making the kill.

Squall stared at her with a stone cold glare in his eyes. He had to quickly think of a way to stop her, but he didn't know how strong Kairi was on her own. He had never seen the full ability of her strength.

"You know, I have always thought that you were crazy when I first met you, but now, I think that you are just completely insane!" He let the comment sink in, and immediately positioned himself into a battle stance once he noticed that Kairi was getting ready to lunge herself at him.

"Shit!"

Kairi's mind snapped after hearing his last comment. The anger inside of her kept building up, and she didn't know why, nor could she control it. It was like someone else was controlling her instead.

"Oh really, well I'll show you what insane is!" she snarled as she bolted towards him. She had her arms out with her hands ready to claw at him. Her eyes grew colder as she moved out of the way before Squall hit her with the Gunblade.

"Oh, is that how it is going to go?" In a flash Kairi was in front of Squall with a hand wrapped around his neck, and used the other hand to pry the sword from his hand. Her eyes were eyeing his while she smirked devilishly. "You never thought in your life that you would be killed by a girl did you?" she asked as she let out a short hysterical laugh.

Squall could feel his body freeze after Kairi got a hold of his neck. He slightly hesitated once his Gunblade fell to the ground because he knew that it was his only way out. He wanted to take a quick glimpse of where the sword was, but it seemed next to impossible. His eyes seemed to be lost in hers once again. It was almost hypnotizing.

"I highly doubt that you will kill me" he finally told her as he managed to grin. "I don't think that you have what it takes to kill anyone, especially me." His grin soon faded once he felt the grip around his neck tighten. He could feel Kairi's sharp claws poke at his skin, and eventually pierce it slightly. He didn't think that Kairi would really go that far, but he thought wrong. He only knew her for a few weeks, which didn't give him enough time to figure her out.

Kairi stared at her claws as they left small cuts in Squall neck. It was bothering her tremendously that he didn't try to get out of her grasp, nor try to get away. One part of her was relieved that he wasn't struggling. It was almost like that he wanted to help her, but the other side of her wanted to tear him to pieces. Inside her head she was screaming at herself because she didn't know what to do. She wanted to let him go, but her monster self was clawing at her. It forced her to let her killer self take over.

"You really think that?" Kairi chuckled, and inched herself closer to him till her lips was close to his ear.

"You shouldn't trust those who you just met" she whispered as she smiled. "You never know what kind of person they might be." She giggled, and raised her free arm slightly so she could claw out Squall's heart. "It makes me laugh inside to know that someone like you would fall into a woman's trap. A typical man." She let out one last laugh before thrusting her hand at his chest.

Squall could feel chills run up and down his spine while he listened to Kairi. It made him slightly uncomfortable knowing that he was so close to her. He thought that it would be a wise decision to make a move, but his mind went blank once he saw that Kairi's free hand was rise up so it was in line with his chest. He never really thought that he would be killed by a girl, but now it became a possibility to him. It wasn't his first choice on how he wanted to die, but he guessed that he couldn't really predict how he was going to be whipped out.

"Try it, I dare you" he silently said to her as he looked over at her with the corner of his eyes. "You won't succeed." Just when he said that, he eyed Kairi's hand as it made his way towards him, which now made him mentally panic. He took a deep breath, but he soon exhaled once Kairi came to a complete stop.

For once he had a concerned look on his face after noticing that Kairi wasn't moving at all. The expression she gave was mixed with shock, and fear.

"Kairi?" Squall swiftly grabbed a hold of her shoulders as her body became limp, and fell towards him. "What the hell?" It confused him to know that just a few moments ago, Kairi went ballistic on him, and now she was in some sort of state where she was not speaking, nor moving. He shook her body a few times before pulling her back to look at her again. It became clear to him that she was somehow knocked out.

"This isn't right" he whispered to himself.

It didn't take him too long to notice the solution to the problem. In the middle of Kairi's back was a needle that seemed to be stuck in her skin.

"What the hell?" He reached around Kairi, and pulled the needle out slowly just in case Kairi came to. "

"It is a stabilizer that was specially made for her"

Squall turned his attention away from Kairi, and glanced down towards the entrance of the alleyway, and saw Cloud, who had an ice cold glare.

"Now if you would do me a favor, pass Kairi over."


	8. Chapter 8

-Chapter 8

~Squall's POV~

"What the hell happened back there?" Squall asked Cloud as he pointed to Kairi, who was lying unconscious on the couch.

He had been piling Cloud with questions ever since he brought Kairi back to his house after the incident. He was both shocked, and frustrated at the same time because he had no idea why Kairi acted the way she did.

"Kairi lost her temper" Cloud finally answered as his eyes went from Squall to his sister. He ran his fingers through his spikey blonde hair, and then folded his arms. "Whenever she gets mad, and can't control her anger, there is no stopping her when she goes into her rage mode." He took a quick look at Squall before turning back to Kairi. "You were just lucky that she didn't do too much harm to you. She can be hard to handle."

"What was that thing that Kairi was hit with?" Squall sat on one of the arms of the couch, and looked over his shoulder to take peek at Kairi. His mind was still blown from her sudden mood change, and the way that she acted in the ally. All he wanted was to understand why she acts that way.

"It is a needle that injects some kind of hormone into her that calms her down, though it seems that it is strong enough to knock her out every time she gets hit with it." He then gave Squall a cold stare. "Answer this. Why did you hide Kairi here?"

Squall kept staring at Kairi as he tried to think of how to explain everything to Cloud. At that moment, he wanted Kairi to be awake so she could help him deal with Cloud, but he knew that it wasn't going to happen.

"To be honest, I don't know" Squall responded as he shrugged, and turned to look at Cloud. "I found her asleep in an ally, so I thought that I would at least take her off of the streets for the night. It can get pretty dangerous out there." He took a short pause so he could take some time to think about what had happened in the couple of weeks that Kairi had been at the house. "She left, but then I ended up bringing her back after I saw the missing posters go around. "

"So when I came here to see if you had seen her, she was here the whole time." Cloud didn't look too impressed.

Squall shrugged again. "Pretty much." He raised an eyebrow once he noticed the looks that Cloud was giving him. "What was I supposed to do? I had a crazy woman that hid herself in the closet, and nagged at me so I wouldn't say the truth. She can be flipping scary!" His expression then turned serious. "You're lucky that I allowed her to stay here because I never do things like this."

~Kairi's POV~

Kairi lightly groaned as she began to feel like she was starting to wake up. Her ears twitched once she started to hear both Squall's and Cloud's voices.

'Shit!' she said to herself mentally. She wasn't looking forward to dealing with Cloud once she was fully awake. She knew that an argument was going to rise between them, and it wasn't going to be a nice argument either.

"Hey, wake up!"

Kairi let out a low growl once she heard Cloud talk to her, and lightly slapped one of her cheeks.

"Do that again and I will break every bone in that arm of yours!" she snapped as she swiftly shoved Cloud's hand away from her, and slowly sat up on the couch. She reached up, and rubbed her forehead after feeling light headed.

"How long have I been out?" she asked as she lowered her hand, and glanced over at both Squall and Cloud.

"For about a couple of hours" Squall responded.

Kairi nodded, and gave Cloud a pissed off look. "I see that you have finally found me." She moved herself on the couch so she was properly sitting on it. "What do you want?" She watched as Clod looked over at her with a frown on his face.

"Why do you think I am here?" he asked coldly.

Kairi shrugged, and acted as if she had no idea why he was there. She knew that he was searching for her to bring her back to Midgar, but she wasn't going to say anything.

"You ran off without telling anyone that you were leaving. It took me two days to figure out that you were gone before I left to go look for you. Do you realize that you are just putting yourself out there so you can be caught?"

Kairi raised an eyebrow, and blinked. She was curious about why anyone would catch her for something. "What do you mean? What did I do this time?" She took a quick glimpse at Squall, who was giving them both a confused look. "If I was aware that I was wanted, I would have taken more precaution." She sighed, and turned back to Cloud.

"You do realize that Shinra has been on your tail. They have been looking for you too after they were notified that you were missing."

Kairi couldn't help but to let out a laugh. "You are just saying that to scare me." She gave him a fake smile. "You really need to stop overreacting because you and I know that this isn't a serious situation."

Cloud frowned at his sister. "Kairi, Vincent was out looking for you too."

Kairi's smile faded. "Well now that you put it that way, it is a serious situation." She thought that it was odd for Vincent to do a thing like that because she always saw him as the type of person that wouldn't really care about things like that. "Why would Shinra be out looking for me anyways?"

The expression on Cloud's face read that he knew the answer to the question, but he didn't want to give her the right answer.

"Because of all of the complaints that Reno has made" he finally told her.

"Why would Reno complain about me?" Kairi was starting to get frustrated.

"Do you know how many times he has spotted you out and about drunk in public?" Cloud asked her. He didn't give her a time to answer. "Too many times."

"So all this time I have been hiding a runaway alcoholic?"

Kairi turned her head to stare at the walkway to the living room, and noticed that Squall was standing at the doorway. She wondered how he moved from the couch to where he was. It made her feel ill since he could hear the conversation between her and Cloud.

"Yeah, you have" Cloud said as he nodded at Squall. He then let out a sigh, and turned to leave. "Come on Kairi, I am taking you back."

Kairi could feel her tail try to whip back and forth beneath her. Her hands flexed into tight fists before tapping them on her legs.

"I am not going!" She growled with anger, and quickly rose to her feet. "I think I am fully capable of being out on my own!"

Cloud stopped walking, and shook his head. "You are not capable of staying out on your own. You will end up getting yourself in trouble like you always do. Besides, what are you going to do when Shinra ends up finding you?" He didn't bother looking back at her.

"I can deal with Shinra myself!" Kairi spat. "I can handle Reno, Rude, or anyone that Rufus sends!" Her hands curled into fists, and tightly kept them in place. If she had been holding a stress ball, it would have already exploded in her hand.

"You'd be surprised what Shinra can do" Cloud told her as he turned to face her.

Kairi snarled at him, and stormed past Cloud so she could go to the kitchen just to get to the front door. She needed fresh air, and time away from her brother even though she had plenty of time away from him when she was in hiding. She entered the kitchen, and opened the door before slamming it behind her, and flopped herself down on the front steps.

"It is going to be impossible to get him to go away" she muttered to herself as she placed her face in her hands, and let her hair fall around her as if she was letting it hug her for support. She thought that she felt a few tears run down her face, but she didn't think she was in the mood to cry. She didn't want herself to cry over the foolishness she was going through. If she cried, she would have called herself weak, and powerless. She let out a sigh as her ears rested against her head, and her tail whipped behind her. She could feel it hit her back every time it swished back and forth.

"Are you always like this around him?"

Kairi didn't respond as Squall came outside, and closed the door behind him. She looked over to the side after he sat down beside her, and then turned away.

"He seems pretty determined to take you back to wherever you are from."

"I don't really want to go back" Kairi muttered as she shook her head. "When I am there, I am stuck with either Cloud, or Tifa when Cloud is off doing whatever. I have a job there, but I still feel like I am trapped because I am not really allowed to go far by myself."

"Are you that dangerous?" Squall asked as he glanced over at her, and then ahead of him. There was nothing for him to stare at besides the sidewalk, trees, and a house.

Kairi shrugged. "I don't know. I can't even remember what I was trying to do to you before I was knocked out, not like I care what would have happened to you though. All I know is that I am not myself when I am angry, and my tantrums tend to get too out of hand, but I never cared about that either."

Squall nodded, and scratched the back of his neck. He remained silent for a few moments as he tried to think of what he was going to say next.

"What are you going to do about your brother? You will have to go back." He didn't know why he even bothered to ask her those questions because he didn't really care, but something made him curious about what she was going to do now that her brother has found her.

"Like I said, I don't want to go back to Midgar."

"Maybe you should. That is where you are from, and there are people there that obviously want you there." He wouldn't mind her company, but he didn't know if he wanted to take the risk of having someone that could possible kill him living with him. He didn't know what to do the first time she got angry, and he defiantly wouldn't know what to do the next time.

Kairi raised an eyebrow, and peered over at him. She had no idea why he was acting so nice to her. It made her a bit scared.

"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" she asked. "By now we are usually arguing, and possibly want to rip each others heads off." She lightly chuckled at her comment.

Squall glared at her with one of his cold glares.

"Is that better?"

Kairi nodded, and lowered her head to examine the ground.

"Well, I guess that this is the last time you will be seeing this kitty." It made her a bit upset that she had finally made the descion to leave because she didn't really want to leave Squall behind by himself. Even though she only knew him for a couple of weeks, it felt as if she known him forever because they argued too much. "You won't have to put up with looking at my face, or burning yourself while trying to cook a salmon."

"Hey, I got better the last time I tried to cook that!"

"You didn't burn yourself, but you managed to still cook the salmon. Do you realize how much those things cost?"

Squall shrugged.

Kairi sighed, and then pushed herself up so she was standing.

"Well, I better go get my things so I can get out of your way." She pushed her hair away from her face, and entered the house so she could go grab her gunblade, and her belongings.

"So, are you going?" Cloud asked as soon as Kairi entered the house.

Kairi only nodded, and headed towards the closet that Kairi had all of her things. She grabbed her gunblade, and her bag before walking to the living room to get her cloak. In her head, she was yelling at herself because she didn't try to think of any way for her to stay instead of going back to Midgar with Cloud, but her mind was so cluttered that she didn't even bother.

"The sooner we leave, the faster we get to Midgar" she said to Cloud as she returned to the kitchen, and once again made her way outside. She ignored the fact that Squall was there, and stomped towards Fenir, Cloud's motorbike.

"If you say so" Cloud mumbled as he followed her. He let out a sigh, and looked at Kairi's gunblade. "You know that there is no place to put that thing. You will have to somehow attach it to the back of you."

Kairi frowned. "There is no way I am doing that!" she spat. "What if you end up crashing the bike?"

Cloud shrugged, and managed to find something on his bike that he could tie around the gunblade, and make it so Kairi could keep a good grip on it while they were on the bike.

"Don't let go of it."

Kairi gave him a cold glare, and turned her attention to Squall as she got on the back of the bike. It made her frown more to see him still sitting on the front steps watching them. It looked like he didn't care that she was leaving, but deep down she knew that it was going to bother him. It made her feel all weird inside to know that some stranger, that happened to be a very attractive guy, was going to miss her one way or another. She turned away before she could say anything to him.

"Hurry up Cloud, I want to get out of here!"

Cloud said a few things under his breath which made Kairi reach over and hit him upside the head.

"Fine, I will hurry up!" He hopped on the bike, and started it. "Is there anything here that you-"

"Just drive!"

"Whatever!" Cloud listened to his sister, began to drive up the street, and tried to find the easiest way out of the town.

Kairi sat on the back of the bike, and tried to think of what was going to happen once she got back to Midgar. She knew that she would have to return to Seventh Heaven, and put up with Tifa, but she knew she had no choise. She would have to go back to working as a bartender, which she didn't mind, but she hated to put up with the regular drunks that tended to come in every night, especially Reno when he manages to find time to drop by. It bothered her that she had to go back, but there was nothing that she could do since Cloud has an invisible leash on her. Eventually, she would have to figure out her boundaries, and ways that she could get around them without getting caught. She felt like Midgar was not the place for her even though it was her home. She knew that she had to try to get out, and find a place where she knew she could belong.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Kairi frowned as Cloud finally started to drive into Midgar. She didn't expect to be back so soon, but they have been driving non-stop for the past few days with barely any time to rest. On the drive back, she wondered a lot if Squall had already forgotten about her, or if he was bored because he didn't have anyone to argue with. She knew that she had missed all of the arguing. She argues with Cloud, but it wasn't the same.

"Are we almost there Cloud?" she whined as she tried to sit straighter. "My back is really starting to hurt again!" The ride back for her was awful because she had to have her gunblade attached to her back while Cloud somehow had his Buster sword inside of the bike.

"Yes, now quit whining!" Cloud sounded like he was starting to get annoyed with her because all she had been doing for the whole trip home was complaining and complain some more.

"Fine!" Kairi sighed, and looked around to see what had been going on since she was gone. People were still wandering the streets doing what they usually do, and there were still people sick on the streets because of geo stigma. She glanced over at her bandaged arm, and then at the back of Cloud's head. She was shocked that he hadn't asked her what was wrong with her arm since he always asked that question just to try to pry it out of her. She knew that if he found out, he would definitely freak out at her. He tended to freak out at her a lot over things, and she didn't know why. It bothered her.

To Kairi, her life in Midgar wasn't all that exciting. She lives with her brother and Tifa, and helps Tifa out with the bar, which was the only thing that she thought, was half decent. She loved to drink, so she would sneak a drink or two while she is working. Cloud doesn't like it when she gets drunk, but she doesn't really care. There was nothing else better for her to do. She doesn't really have any friends, or a boyfriend, so partying by herself was the only thing that she could do for fun.

"We're home" Cloud told Kairi as he parked his bike, and sat on his bike for a few minutes before getting off. He glanced at his sister, and noticed that she wasn't getting off of the back of the bike. "Are you going to get off of that or not?"

"Just give me a minute" Kairi sighed as she slowly got off of the motorbike. Her body was stiff from the long drive home, so she took the time to remove whatever held her gunblade to her back, and stretched. "My legs are stiff from sitting on that bike for a while."

"Well I will be inside. I want to talk to you about something when you get inside." Cloud turned around, and walked towards the entrance to Seventh Heaven.

Kairi watched him, and frowned. She didn't like the fact that he wanted to have a little talk with her. She already knew that he was going to keep asking why she ran off, and why Squall hid her in his house. She had a feeling that he would.

"Great" she muttered as she adjusted her backpack, and picked up her gunblade before she even thought about walking into the bar. She wanted to take her time, but she knew that Cloud would come out to see if she ran off or not.

"Where have you been?"

Kairi looked at Tifa as she entered the bar, who was cleaning large beer mugs. She didn't expect for her to say anything.

"Around." She answered as she glared at Cloud, who was sitting down, left the bar section of the building, and went straight to her room to put her things away. She sighed as she opened the door to her room, and stopped after she took a few steps. She forgot that when she left the house, she left her room in a mess because she was too busy trying to find stuff to take with her for when she ran away.

"Lovely" she grumbled. She set her gunblade aside, and threw her bag onto her bed before she started to pick up clothes off of the floor, and throwing them into a round hamper. She thought that it was funny that nobody came into her room, and cleaned it for her, but that would be considered as snooping on their part.

"Kairi!"

Kairi lowly growled after hearing Tifa yell out her name. She wasn't even in the house for at least five minutes and already she was getting bugged. She rolled her eyes, and drug herself over to the doorway.

"What do you want?" she hollered back.

"Can you come down here for a few moments?"

"Why?"

"Just come down!"

"Damn you Cloud" she mumbled under her breath as she left her room to go back down to the bar. She somehow had a feeling that Cloud got Tifa to come down so he could talk to her about things, which she wasn't really happy about. She didn't want to discuss things since she just got home. She wasn't in no mood to talk. She took her time to get to the bar because she was thinking of what she was going to say to them when they asked her questions. She wished that she could lie to them, but she wasn't going to. She was raised better than that.

"What do you two want?" Kairi asked once she entered the bar, and sat on one of the chairs at the far end of the counter.

Tifa pointed to Cloud.

"Your brother wants to talk to you."

"I can see that, but you know that he could have easily called for me himself." She turned to her brother. "What do you want?" She sounded as if she wanted to get down to the point instead of stalling the conversation.

Cloud looked over at his sister. He had his regular serious expression on his face.

"Why did you leave?"

Kairi shrugged, and glanced away. She didn't like to talk about her personal feelings with her brother, but she had to, or else either him or Tifa will bug and bug until they get an answer.

"I was getting sick and tired of being here" she began. "You have no idea how I feel when I am told that I have to stay here because Shinra is out to get me. I admit, I do go out when you tell me not to, but I have come down to the conclusion that I should be able to do whatever I want. I am sick and tired of being told what to do just because you want to keep me safe. I do enjoy working here at the bar, but I am starting to wonder what is outside of Midgar."

Cloud didn't respond to Kairi right away. He knew for a long time that she didn't like living in Midgar, but he never really bothered to say anything about that.

"I know that you hate being here, but you have to be somewhere safe. Shinra doesn't joke around, and when they said that they are after you, they mean it. I don't know why they are after you, but all I know is that you need to stay here, or else you are not going to survive at all."

"I don't know why Shinra is after me either, but that is not stopping me from going anywhere! Reno and Rude work for Rufas, and you don't see them tying me up and dragging me back to him. Reno doesn't dare to lay a hand on me, and he knows it!"

"So where did you go?" Tifa interrupted. She decided that she would change the subject so they wouldn't get into an argument.

Kairi slowly turned her head to look at Tifa.

"I managed to find a hotel to stay in."

"More like she hid in someone's house" Cloud said as he corrected his sister.

"Who did you stay with?" Tifa raised an eyebrow. "I am shocked that someone would hide a runaway that had her face on papers all over the place."

"I stayed with a guy named Squall. It was his idea for me to stay with him. Why did you want to know?"

Tifa couldn't help but to let out a small laugh.

"You stayed with him?" She peered over at Cloud. "Did you say anything after you found out that she was staying with him?"

"What are you talking about; Cloud doesn't know who Squall is. He just met him today."

Tifa shook her head.

"Your brother lied. Everyone knows him, well, not everyone. Only me, Cloud, Yuffie, and a few others know him. I am really shocked that you never met him until you started to stay with him."

Kairi gave Cloud a pissed off look. She was half mad at him, and half mad at Squall because he acted like he never knew who her brother was.

"So all of that time that I was at Squall's house, you and him knew each other?"

Cloud nodded.

"Yeah, we did, though I had no clue why, or how he hid you for that long."

"Squall knows who you are" Tifa told Kairi.

"But he-"

"He may have acted as if he didn't know you, but that was so you wouldn't be so freaked out."

Kairi shook her head, and didn't want to believe a word that she was telling her.  
>"I don't believe you!"<p>

"Believe what you want, but I am just telling the truth." Tifa stopped out let out a chuckle. "Cloud looked so mad when he came in here, and told me where you were."

"He is always mad about something" Kairi sighed as she stared at the counter.

"He knew that I was looking for you" Cloud butted in. "I don't know why he lied, and kept you hidden."

"I told him to lie. I was surprised that he actually listened to me."

"You probably threatened him with something so he would listen." Cloud knew Kairi's way of making people listen to her.

"For once, I didn't threaten him; at least, I think that I didn't threaten him." Kairi glared over at him with the corner of her eyes, and then looked at Tifa as she placed a mug on the counter.

"Did he at least treat you good?" she asked.

Kairi nodded, and ran the fingers of her left hand through her hair. She didn't know when the questions or comments were going to end. She was still trying to let the fact that Squall knew her for a while sink in.

"Yeah, he treated me ok. There were times were it felt like him and I was married by the way we argued." She thought back at the many arguments that she had with him, and began to miss those times.

"There isn't one person that you don't argue with isn't there?" Cloud asked flatly.

Kairi was mentally giving her brother a death glare. He knew her so well that it frightened her.

"We didn't argue all of the time! There were times were we actually got along!" She could sense that Cloud didn't like the whole thought of her and Squall together even though they were not even together. She started to get feelings for him, but she didn't want her brother to know.

"That is the first."

Kairi managed to get up from the seat that she was in, and glanced at both Tifa and Cloud.

"Look, I just got back, so I don't want to be bothered. I will be in my room if you need me." She walked past Cloud, and hurried back to her room. Her head ached from the questions, and the new information that was given to her, so she wanted some time alone so she could think things through, and calm down.

"Why didn't he tell me that he already knew me?" Kairi asked herself as she entered her room, and closed the door behind her. It confused her how Squall didn't tell her after the amount of time that she stayed at his house. She would have asked Tifa how he knew her, but she didn't bother to ask. She sighed, and shook her head before resuming to cleaning her room. Picking up everything off of the floor distracted her from everything that was going on, but she couldn't help but to stop for a bit, and think about it again. She was never bothered so much.

"Why is this getting to me?" she muttered. She sat on her bed, and buried her face in the palm of her hands. "Get over this Kairi; you are never going to see him again!" She rubbed her face, and turned her head to eye a picture that she had placed on her bed. It was of her and Cloud. She didn't know how someone managed to get a picture of them together, but it turned out to be a nice picture. In the picture, Cloud was standing, but was slightly leaning forward, and was trying to support Kairi, who was on his back. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and were squeezing tight.

Kairi faintly smiled once she picked up the picture, and kept staring at it. She didn't remember the time when she was so happy. She also couldn't remember the time when her and her brother could have a normal conversation without getting angry at each other. She longed to know where those times have vanished off to. The picture brought back many memories, but it was somehow giving her visions of events that she didn't know that she was unaware of.

In the vision, she could see a girl that was human, and looked to be around ten or eleven years of age. The girl had bright blonde hair that rested at the bottom of her chin, and sky blue eyes that were full of happiness. She looked like Kairi, but a younger version. She was laughing, and was running after a boy that was not much older than her, and had spikey blonde hair like Cloud's.

"Cloud, wait up!"

Kairi could feel her body start to tense up after hearing Cloud's name. She didn't expect to see a girl that looks like her hanging around Cloud as a child. She wondered why Cloud never told her anything about the girl. She frowned as she could see Cloud stop to wait for the girl.

"Kairi, why do you have to be so slow?"

The vision ended after Cloud's comment.

Kairi gasped once she came back to reality. She stared at the picture one more time before throwing it on her bed, and backing away from it.

"Kairi?" she whispered to herself as she placed a hand on her head, and let a chunk of her hair curl up in her hand as it made a fist. She could feel her body start to shake after thinking about what she just saw in her vision. She didn't understand how the girl looked like her, why her name was Kairi, and how Cloud knew her. She didn't know the girl, and she had been around her brother all of her life.

"What isn't he telling me?"

The vision raked at her brain, and it made her want to go ask Cloud if she knew anyone else by the name of Kairi, but she thought that it would be best if she would do that later. She had a feeling that Cloud was tired since he spent weeks looking her for her. He was also in a frustrated mood because of the fact that Squall was hiding her for the majority of the time he was searching for her.

"I will just ask later I guess" she sighed as she got up, and grabbed a broom that was by a small closet at the end of her bed. She ran her free hand through her hair, and then started to sweep the floor, which was full of dirt. She never saw it so dirty in all of her life. She guessed that she didn't really care at the time that she made a mess because it was the same day that she ran away.

After Kairi finished cleaning, and managed to get a load of laundry started, she decided that she was going to try to be social with people. It was starting to get dark, and the bar was going to get a bit busy.

"I'm alive" she announced to Tifa as she walked into the bar.

Tifa looked over at her, and then away. "Good, then you can help me tonight. Just because you ran off doesn't mean that I am going to give you a few days off to settle in."

"Well you are extra bitchy tonight" Kairi pointed out. She walked behind the counter, and leaned against it to look around. She noticed that there were a few people sitting around, but not enough for her to do anything.

"And I see that you still make stupid comments"

"They are not stupid. I just like to point out the obvious."

Tifa folded her arms against her chest, and frowned at Kairi.

"You are really not happy to be back here are you?"

Kairi shrugged, and stared at her feet. She wasn't happy to be back to Midgar, but at the same time she was happy since she grew up there since she was little.

"I don't know." She shrugged again. "I felt great once I left Midgar. I didn't know that I had that kind of freedom. It was ok while it lasted."

"Sometimes you have to give up things that you want in order to keep yourself safe." Tifa placed a clean glass where the others go, and folded her arms against her chest.

Kairi rubbed her face with her hands, and let out a low growl. Her head ached from all the nagging from everyone. She wanted all of the stress that was running through her to go away.

"Yeah yeah."

Tifa sighed, and turned away.

"Now stop being so depressed, and get to work. You know that this place gets packed at night."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Kairi let out a long, frustrated sigh as she laid back onto her bed, and stared up at the blank ceiling. A wave of boredom, and depression washed over her, which made her roll over and burry her face into her pillow. It has been a little over a month since her brother brought her back to Midgar, ever since then, she had no freedom. She never even got a chance to leave the house to get fresh air. The only thing that she does to keep herself on the go was helping Tifa out at the bar, clean. Most of the time she would stay in her room, and stare out the window.

"This isn't fair at all!" Kairi mumbled into her pillow before pushing herself up so she could sit up on the bed. She pushed away all of the hair that was covering her face, and turned her head towards the window. She felt like she was some animal in a cage as she watched as the people outside wandered around, enjoying their lives. Seeing how happy they were gave her a tight feeling in her chest.

"That's it!"

Kairi got off of her bed, and stormed towards her bedroom door, but tripped over a shirt. She fell forward and nearly hit her head on the door, but she was saved once the door opened.

"What are you doing down there?"

Kairi looked up, and frowned after noticing it was Cloud.

"What do you want?" Her tone showed that she wasn't really pleased.

"I just wanted to see if you were still living seems how you keep yourself in your room, and never come out unless you really need to."

Kairi got up off of the ground, and dusted herself off.

"Well I wouldn't be like this if you would just let me go out. Eventually I am going to go insane from staying in here all day." She glared at him, and crossed her arms.

Cloud sighed, and rubbed his forehead with his thumb, and this pointer finger.

"Are you really going to start with that again?"

Kairi nodded.

"Yes, I am." She took a long pause. "I am not going to live my life being stuck living with an over protective brother, and someone who is completely annoying, and yes, I am talking about Tifa." She wasn't going to give up complaining to her brother about how she feels about living with them. "I need freedom too you know!"

"The only reason why I don't want you to go out is-"

"Because you don't want me to get caught by anyone from Shinra" Kairi interrupted, and finished Cloud's sentence. "I know!" She rolled her eyes. "I am not going get caught by Shinra! Stop worrying!" She stared at her brother with an annoyed expression for a few minutes before pushing him out of her way, and walked down the hall.

"Fine!" Cloud muttered. He watched her walk away, and frowned. "Just don't do anything stupid."

"I won't!" She raised one of her hands, and waved before leaving Cloud by himself.

Kairi peeked outside after she opened the front door, and looked from side to side to see if there was any threat outside.

"Everything looks ok to me" she said to herself as she slowly inched her way out the door, and closed it behind her. Even though she was excited about finally being able to go outside, she was slightly nervous. It has been awhile since she got to be in the same environment with more than two people.

"Ok, you're out, just go!"

She examined her surroundings once again, and watched the busy streets. It wasn't as busy as the town she was in when she met Squall, but she thought that she could manage to survive. She took a few minutes to gather her thoughts, took a deep breath, and then wandered away from the bar.

It didn't take long for Kairi to feel a bit out of place. People took the time to stop, and stare at her. Some of them would whisper things to each other, hoping that Kairi couldn't hear them. Even though that most of the people in Midgar knew her, they would still say things about her, which really pissed Kairi off.

"You can stop staring anytime now" Kairi said to herself in a low, angry tone. Her ears laid back against her head as she glared at whoever stared at her. She could see herself snap at them one day, but she knew that if she did, she would be in big trouble.

She let out a long sigh, and stared ahead so she didn't have to pay any attention to the people around her. She blocked everyone out from her head so she could enjoy her time outside of her room.

"KAIRI!"

Kairi's ears perked up as she came to a stop.

"Huh?" She glanced over her shoulder, and saw a short girl with black hair run up to her. "Yuffie?"

The girl stopped once she was beside her. She rested her hands on her knees, and tried to catch her breath. She then raised one of her hands, and pointed her pointer finger up to tell Kairi to wait a few moments.

"I see that Cloud finally found you!"

Kairi frowned, and gave Yuffie a nod.

Yuffie grinned, and stood up straight before crossing her arms.

"So, where have you been?"

"Nowhere in particular."

Yuffie kept the grin on her face.

"Aww come on, spit it out." She shook her head. "Never mind that, Tifa told me where you were hiding."

Kairi's face turned beat red. She was unaware that Tifa was telling everyone where she was.

"What did she say?"

"You were hiding at Squall's house!" Yuffie let out a laugh after noticing how red Kairi's face was.

Kairi looked away, and shrugged. She started to feel a bit upset after Squall's name was mentioned. It made her confused why she would get that feeling over someone that she didn't really know.

"He offered to hide me."

Yuffie unfolded her arms, and rested her hands on her hips.

"How did you manage to stay in the same house as him? He is just an anti-social jerk who has issues!"

Kairi couldn't help but to let out a small laugh.

"It is easier living with him then it is with Cloud."

"That doesn't surprise me." Yuffie scratched her head. "What was Cloud's reaction when he found you?"

Kairi looked at Yuffie. "Why do you want to know all of this? I am shocked that Tifa didn't tell you everything."

Yuffie made a face.

"Hey, I am just curious!"

Kairi rubbed her face with one of her hands, and shook her head.

"I don't think that Cloud liked the fact that I spent two weeks with a guy. Who knows what went through his head."

Yuffie blinked. "You and Squall didn't do anything right?"

Kairi's eyes widened, and her face grew redder then it was before.

"NO!"

Yuffie laughed at her.

Kairi began to walk away from Yuffie as fast as she could.

"End of conversation!"

Yuffie laughed more as she followed her.

"I am just joking around! I highly doubt that Squall would feel that way about you anyways. He is a weird guy."

Kairi didn't respond to her comment right away. What she said made her think about the two weeks that she stayed at Squall's house. A few times she could feel that there was some kind of connection between them, but she didn't want to believe it. She knew that Squall was starting to have some feelings towards her, but she didn't question it. Even though she had only known him for a couple of weeks, she felt as if she knew him for a long time.

"Yeah, he is a weird guy." She nodded in response, and brushed her hair out of her face. She then glanced over at Yuffie. "I was told that he knows who I am, but when I met him, he didn't act like he knew me."

"He probably didn't want to put you in an awkward situation." Yuffie gave her a weird look. "You didn't start to fall for him did you?"

Kairi immediately turned her head away.

"No."

"Kairi?"

Kairi took a deep breath, and let it out before stopping once again.

"Do you promise not to tell anyone anything that I say?"

Yuffie nodded.

"I promise!"

"Don't even tell Cloud. I don't want him to know anything."

"I won't tell Cloud."

"Are you sure?"

"I am sure!" Yuffie was starting to get impatient. "Now what were you going to say?"

Kairi bit down on her bottom lip, and played with a few strands of her hair.

"Well, when I first met Squall, I found myself in his house after I passed out on the streets. He told me that he found me, so he made sure that I was somewhere safe. When I first saw what he looked like, I thought that he was REALLY good looking. For some reason, I felt like I had some kind of connection with him that would keep us close. I don't know why I had that feeling. It confused the hell out of me." She took a short pause. "Anyways, I left, and checked myself into a crappy hotel, but my stay there didn't last long. Cloud had put up posters everywhere that had my picture on it. It didn't take people long to notice them." She stopped again to regain her thoughts.

"That night, Squall found me at the hotel. He offered to hide me at his place, which I thought was a bit creepy, but I accepted anyways. I felt out of place staying at his house, but I eventually got used to it." She smiled. "Even though Squall and I had our moments, and would fight over nothing, we got along well. I could sense that he was starting to like me, but I didn't mention that to him. What really gives me the chills is that-" She stopped once again, and bit her bottom lip. She didn't know if she wanted to say anymore.

Yuffie looked a child that was enjoying a story.

"What gave you the chills? Come on, tell me!"

Kairi lowered her head so she was staring at the ground.

"I think that I started to like him. I mean, I do like him. It freaks me out to know that I feel that way towards someone." Her face started to heat up.

There were a few moments of silence between the two before Yuffie said something.

"Why would you like someone like him?" Yuffie raised an eyebrow. "The story was interesting until it started to get all mushy and stuff."

Kairi could feel her chest ache. She knew that Yuffie would react like that, but her response kind of upset her.

"I don't know, Yuffie." She shook her head.

"I find it weird for both of you to have feelings towards each other. I mean, I always thought that Squall was gay, and you are not really a people person."

Kairi raised her head, and raised an eyebrow at Yuffie.

"You think that Squall is gay?"

Yuffie nodded.

"Yup!" She grinned.

Kairi let out a small laugh, and rolled her eyes.

Yuffie looked at her imaginary watch that she had on her wrist.

"Well, I need to go." She cautiously looked around. "I have material that I need to find." She waved to Kairi, and ran off.

Kairi waved back, and watched her go before walking the other way.

"You really need to get him out of your head" Kairi said to herself as she folded her arms against her chest, and kept her eyes on the ground, and concentrated on her feet as they took step after step in front of her. After her conversation with Yuffie, her emotions started to go all crazy because Squall's name was mentioned. She felt like she wanted to go back just so she could see him, but she knew that Cloud probably wouldn't let her.

"I need coffee." She let out a long sigh, and began to pick up the pace so she could get to the nearest shop faster. She blamed all of her weird emotions on lack of sleep, so she thought that being more awake could stop her from thinking about all the nonsense. It spooked her to realize that she was starting to change as person, but she didn't want that to happen. She didn't want to change at all because she thought that her life would be better if there weren't many people in it. It was the same with relationships. She was scared of love, so she wanted to keep as far away from it as possible. It was a feeling that she didn't know how to show.

Kairi let out one last sigh, and uncrossed her arms before entering a nearby coffee shop.

The shop wasn't busy at all, which made Kairi happy. There were only a few people sitting around. They all seemed to be busy chatting to whoever was there with them.

Kairi watched them for a couple of seconds before approaching the main counter, and ordered her coffee.

"I see that you have finally returned" the lady behind the counter said to her as she made the beverage, and handed it to Kairi.

Kairi nodded, and gave the lady the exact change for the coffee.

"Yeah, I guess I am." She gave a small wave with her free hand, and turned around to head out of the shop, but once she looked out the window of the front entrance, she froze. Her let out a small gasp as her eyes widened. She felt her chest start to tighten once she saw Squall from a distance. She was glad that he wasn't heading towards the shop, but she started to panic once she noticed that he was heading towards Seventh Heaven.

"Shit!"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Kairi stormed out of the shop, forgetting that she had coffee in her hand. So many questions were going through her head, which was giving her an instant headache. She wondered why he was in Midgar, why he was going towards the bar, and what gave him the motivation to even show up.

"Idiot!" Kairi hissed under her breath as she walked as fast as she could so she could get to the bar before him. She was too much in a hurry that she was unaware that she had dropped her coffee, and it was already a few feet behind her.

"Come on Kairi, hurry up!" She cursed under her breath a couple of times before going from speed walking to jogging. It was difficult for her to get to the bar because of the people that were heading in her direction. She constantly had to dodge anyone who came in her path.

"Kairi?"

Kairi turned her head in the direction of whoever said her name, and ended up tripping over her feet. She let out a short winded scream as she fell forward, and nearly landed on her face. She moaned from the slight pain that the concrete gave her, and didn't try to move, or get up.

"Are you ok?"

Kairi wanted to respond, but no words came out once she heard someone approach her. Her body tensed up after inhaling a familiar scent.

"Yeah, I am ok" she responded as she pushed herself up onto her knees, and moved several strands of hair away from her face. She was too afraid to look at the person, who she knew was Squall.

"You sure? You look like you are in some daze."

Kairi finally sucked in the courage to raise her head to take a peek at him. She stared at him for a couple of moments before slightly blushing.

'Yup, he is still good looking' she said to herself mentally. She never knew how distracted she could get until she studied his features over and over again.

"Yeah, I am ok" she finally responded with a nod.

Squall gave a nod back, and held out a hand to offer helping her up.

Kairi stared at his hand, and then accepted his help. She raised one of her hands, and took his. His hand was warm, which sent tingles all through her body. She didn't want to think how much of a fool she was making herself look in front of him.

"Thanks" she said to him after she got up off of the ground. She bit down on her bottom lip, and looked around her before turning her attention back to Squall. "What brought you here?"

Squall shrugged, and reached behind him to scratch the back of his head.

"I don't know" He shrugged again. "I was starting to get bored, so I thought that I should at least try to go somewhere else besides my house."

Kairi raised an eyebrow, and placed her hands on her hips.

"So you came here?"

Squall nodded.

Kairi didn't know if she wanted to believe him or not. She tried to read his emotions, but she saw nothing too suspicious. She then remembered everything that Tifa told her about him a couple weeks back.

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

"What?" Squall was confused about how quickly Kairi's mood changed. He never understood that even when she was staying with him.

"You're an idiot!" Kairi repeated. She didn't look pleased.

"What are you talking about?"

Kairi rolled her eyes, and took one of her hands off of her hip so she could point at him.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew me?"

Squall had no idea what she was talking about.

"I don't understand what you are trying to say."

"Tifa told me that you know her, Cloud, and everyone else that I know."

Squall slowly nodded.

"Yes, I do."

"Then why didn't I know you until the day that I woke up in your house?" Kairi folded her arms against her chest, and waited for an answer. The bickering between them made her feel like she didn't leave his house at all even though they were not there.

"I have my reasons why I kept my distance." He sighed. "You freak out over the littlest of things do you?"

"No I don't." Kairi shook her head.

"Yes, you do."

Kairi couldn't help but to smack him upside the head.

"Oh shush!"

Squall winced, and rubbed where she hit him.

"You hitting me all of the time was one thing that I didn't miss at all."

Kairi couldn't help but to slightly grin.

"Pfft, you missed me, and you know it!" She turned away from him, and headed home.

"I'm home!" Kairi yelled as she opened the front door of the bar, and opened it. She looked around the room, and saw that nobody was in the bar portion of the building. She glanced over her shoulder, and stared at Squall for a couple of moments before walking further into the bar. "Wait here." She closed the door behind her, and left the bar to see if anyone as home.

"Jeez, were did everyone go?" she asked herself as she looked in every room that she could find.

"If you're looking for Cloud, he went out to deliver some stuff" Tifa told her as she came out from a room up ahead, and walked past Kairi.

Kairi eyed Tifa, and turned around so she could watch her walk down the hall.

"When is he going to be back?"

"Why do you want to know?" Tifa stopped in her tracks, and glanced over her shoulder.

Kairi shrugged.

Tifa gave her a glare.

"Are you hiding something?"

"No." Kairi shook her head. "I ran into Squall."

"Why would you want to tell Cloud that?"

Kairi was getting really annoyed with all the questions that Tifa was asking. She hated when people tried to get information out of her.

"I don't know!" She threw her hands in the air. "Now that I know that Cloud might be holding some grudge against him, I don't want to have them both in the same room. Do you know how awkward that might be?"

Tifa rolled her eyes.

"Kairi, you worry too much."

Kairi's mouth curled as if she was going to growl.

Tifa stopped her from saying anything by pointing at her.

"This is your problem. Deal with it on your own." After that was said, she left.

Kairi let out a low growl, and folded her arms against her chest. She had no idea how she could put up with her, let alone live with her.

"Bitch" she muttered under her breath as she frowned, and stormed down the hall to head back outside. She thought that she might as well deal with Squall on her own.

Kairi walked out the front door, closed it behind her, and sat down on the front step. She crossed her arms, and rested them on her knees.

"The only one that is in there is Tifa. Cloud is out delivering stuff" she told Squall as she looked at him. "Even if he was here, I wouldn't really want to go in there."

Squall stared at her, and raised an eyebrow; confused.

"Why?"

Kairi hesitated to say anything to him. She didn't know if she even wanted to bother explaining why she didn't want to be in the same room as him and Cloud.

"No reason." Kairi shook her head, and shrugged.

"You're lieing."

Kairi had a strong feeling that they were going to get into another argument.

"Oh yeah?" she said as she slightly leaned forward. "How am I lieing?"

Squall had a small grin on his face, but it was barely noticeable. He enjoyed proving that she was wrong, or lieing about everything or anything in particular.

"I can tell because your face is turning red" he began.

Kairi shook her head in disbelief. She was unaware that her face was indeed turning red.

"No it isn't!"

Squall didn't say anything to her last comment.

"You are starting to get fidgety, and you are looking around as if you are not listening to me."

Kairi bit her bottom lip, and eyed the ground so she didn't have to look at him. She felt her face heat up once she noticed that her fingers tap against her knees, and her feet moving from side to side.

'Damn he is good' she said to herself in her head.

Squall laughed at her.

"I am not stupid" he told her. "You just tend to show obvious signs without you even knowing that you are."

Kairi raised her head, and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh shut up!" She let out a loud sigh, and turned her head away from him. She was still unsure whether to tell him the truth, but she knew that she had to or else he would continue making her look like a tool.

"I just think that it would be awkward to be in the same room as you and Cloud" she admitted.

"Is that it?" Squall asked. He began to get more confused every time he thought about what she told him. "Why?"

"I don't know." She ran her fingers through her hair, and frowned.

Squall frowned as well, and walked over to the steps to take a seat next to Kairi.

"Yes, you do know. You just don't want to tell me."

She peered over at him with the corner of her eyes. She took in a deep breath, and let it out.

"Now that I know that you and Cloud know each other, I think that Cloud is a bit angry at you for hiding me even though you knew that he was looking for me." She stopped talking, and stared ahead. "Why am I even telling you this?"

"Because you want to."

Kairi got up off of the step, and turned to face him.

"I shouldn't be spilling out everything that is on my mind to you! I have only known you for two weeks!" She chewed on her bottom lip, and paced herself back and forth. "You're still a stranger to me!" Her heart started to race, and her chest started to ache from anxiety. She took a quick look at him, and noticed that the door behind him was slightly open. She took note that Tifa was watching, but she didn't say anything. She knew that she would have to put up with a new pile of questions later from her, and her brother.

There was a long moment of silence between her and Squall.

Kairi was too busy trying to regain her thoughts, and calming herself down. She knew that Squall didn't know what to do with her because of her random outburst. She could see it in the blank stares that he was giving her as she walked back and forth. She felt like an idiot by the way she was acting, but she couldn't help but to be overwhelmed by everything.

"Sorry" Kairi apologized as she raised one of her hands, closed her eyes, and rubbed her eyelids with her thumb and middle finger. "I have been cooped up in that bar for over a month, and I am just getting out of the house now. I've been really restless, and pissed off lately." She lowered her hand, and opened her eyes. "I just need to let the anger out."

Squall gave a small nod, and didn't respond right away. He had to take a moment, and try to get use to the fact that she had a habit of freaking out over things. Even though it had been a month since he saw her last, his life was almost back to the way it was before he found her in the ally. He started to feel sorry for the way Kairi had to live. He knew the reason behind why Cloud kept her hidden, but at the same time he thought it was ridiculous. He could also see how bad Kairi wanted just a tiny bit of freedom, but she just wasn't getting it.

"It's ok, I guess." That was all he could think of to say to her at the moment.

Kairi was a tad bit relieved that he didn't over react with her. She felt like some weight has come off of her shoulders after telling him how she felt at the moment. She wished that she had him around all of the time so she could let out all of the tension. She tried talking to her brother about things, but that never went well.

"Ok." She tapped the toe of her shoe against the pavement a couple of times

"So, why are you here besides the fact that you wanted a change of scenery? There HAS to be some other reason."

"That is the only reason why" Squall said to her. He crossed his arms, and gave her a serious glare.

"I don't believe you!"

"Are you seriously going to stand there and argue with me?"

Kairi nodded.

"I will argue with you until I get the right answer! I can stand here all night if I could!"

She had a strong feeling that he was hiding something, and she wasn't going to give up until she got the correct answer.

Squall snickered, and shook his head.

"Well you will be standing there for a long time because I just told you the truth."

Kairi grinned at him after listening to him laugh at her.

"Well you seemed to forget that I can read your mind. I can easily get my answers that way." She felt a bit victorious after telling him that.

Squall was starting to get really frustrated with her. He didn't even catch onto the fact that he was grinding his teeth together, and his hands were clenched into fists. He forgot that Kairi had the ability to read his mind. Now he was stuck in a corner that he couldn't get out of.

Kairi grinned more, and placed her hands on her hips.

"Can't get away from me now!"

Squall stared at her, and was mentally slapping her upside the head. He didn't want to tell her the real reason.

"Come on Squall, tell me!"

"Fine!" He muttered. He took a deep breath, and opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He was interrupted by the roar of an engine that sounded like it was heading towards the bar.

"Lovely!" Kairi growled lowly as she turned her head towards the sound. She could see Cloud from a distance, and gazed away after he got closer to them.

Cloud pulled up beside the bar, and turned off the bike before getting off. He let out a sigh, ran his fingers through his hair, and walked towards the front of the bar, but stopped once he saw Kairi and Squall.

"What is he doing here?" he asked Kairi. He pointed at Squall, and glared at her.

Kairi kept her gaze on Cloud for a couple of seconds before moving her eyes to look at Squall.

"He decided that he was going to come here for a visit. He told me that he needed a chance of scenery."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, and eyed Squall, only to see him nod.

"It's true" Squall said in response to Kairi's explanation.

Cloud didn't know whether to believe him or not. He was still pissed off over the fact that he hid Kairi from him when he was looking for her. He shook his head, and then stepped pass Squall to get through the front door.

Kairi watched him, and could feel the tension between the three of them.

"Sorry about that" Kairi mumbled after Cloud closed the door behind him. "He is still being an ass as always."

Squall nodded, and got up off of the step.

"It is ok, I guess."

Kairi frowned as she noticed that he looked a bit uncomfortable because of the short, and awkward conversation. She didn't like the fact that he felt as if he shouldn't be there.

"If you want to talk somewhere else, we can."

Squall shook his head, and cleared this throat before scratching the back of his neck.

"No, we don't need to." He glanced at Kairi for a quick second, and then away. "I can just talk to you later."

Kairi slowly nodded, and lowered her head so she was concentrating on the ground.

"That is ok."

"I will just come here and get you when I am ready to talk."

Kairi nodded again.

"Ok."

"I will see you later then."

Kairi raised her head, only to gaze upon Squall leaving. Part of her was glad that he was leaving for now, but another part of her didn't want him to go. She was a bit heartbroken over the fact that he didn't want to stay to talk to her because Cloud made him feel a bit out of place. Seeing him like that gave her the hint that something went on between him and her brother

"Cloud, you are such an idiot" she said out loud.

She could feel her blood boil from anger as she turned to face the front door, and quickly headed inside before she made the stupid decision to follow Squall.

"Well he didn't stay long."

Kairi shot Tifa a death glare as she closed the door behind her.

"Who gave you permission to ease drop on conversations?" she asked her.

Tifa raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Kairi rolled her eyes.

"Stop acting like nothing happened. I saw you peeking out from behind the door." She pointed at Cloud before he got a chance to say anything. "Don't say anything."

Tifa placed a glass that she as cleaning on the top of the counter.

"Well you two were arguing outside my bar. I think I have the right to see what was going on."

Kairi didn't respond to her. She rolled her eyes again, and began to walk out of the bar part of the house, but Cloud stopped her.

"Wait" he said to her.

Kairi stopped, and turned around so she was looking at her brother.

"What now?" She didn't sound impressed.

"Why was Squall here? I don't think he was here just because he wanted to get out for a change."

Kairi didn't want to think about where this conversation was going.

"I don't know, Cloud. I have the same feeling too. He seemed off to me."

"He seemed off because he was around you."

Kairi could sense that Cloud was getting a bit angry. She placed a hand on her hip, and put the majority of her weight on one leg.

"What is going on Cloud? What did Squall do to you for you to be acting so bitchy?"

Cloud stared at his hands as they formed into fists against the countertop, and then released the tension by flexing out his fingers. He looked as if he didn't want to talk about it, but he knew that he had to or else Kairi would keep asking questions.

"He has had his eyes set on you before you even knew him. I've warned him many times that you are not even close to being his type, but I don't think he listened to me at all."

Kairi could feel her face heat up so much that steam could come out of her ears. It made her furious that he would do such a thing. She could see that he was trying to protect her, but she didn't like the fact that he was ruining any chance to have an actual relationship.

"WHAT THE FUCK, Cloud!" she spat. "Since when you were in charge of deciding who can like me, and who can't?"

Cloud peered over at his sister.

"When did you start caring about relationships?"

Kairi wanted to give him an answer, but she didn't know how. She was still trying to figure that out herself.

"I don't know!"

Cloud sighed, and looked away from her.

"I'd advise you to watch yourself around him."

"Cloud, I can look after myself. You don't have to be so damn protective!"

"I just don't want you to get hurt, plus I know how you get when you get too upset over something. You lose your temper, and then all hell breaks loose."

The color of Kairi's face flushed. She agreed with Cloud one hundred percent with the fact that it doesn't take long for her get very angry. Whenever she got angry, she got violent, and hard to control.

"I will be careful" Kairi sighed. She nodded, and brushed a few strands of hair away from her face.

"Don't worry too much over this. It isn't like my relationship with him is going to go any further than it already is."

Her ears fell back in embarrassment as she bit down on her bottom lip, and walked away so she could go to her room.

Kairi let out a loud frustrated scream once she entered her room, and slammed the door behind her. She stomped over to her bed, threw herself on the mattress, and buried her face into her pillow.

"Fucking idiots!" she muffled into the pillow.

Her head started to pound from all the stress that her brother puts her through. She didn't know why he would tell her that Squall liked her even before they met. The only conclusion that she came up with was that he wanted her to feel uncomfortable, and not want to be around him. She wasn't going to believe him until she got some answers.

"What if he does like me?"

That question has been on her mind since the day that Cloud took her back to Midgar. She knew that she could sense that he had some form of attraction towards her when she was staying with him, but she didn't know if he still felt the same way. It didn't scare her, but at the same time it did because of her lack of experience with relationships. It frightened her to even think about relationships, but she also knew that if she didn't try to be in a relationship of any kind, she wouldn't have the guts to be in one at all. The only problem was that her brother was in the way of everything.

"Just get over it Kairi" she sighed to herself.

She rolled over onto her back, and stared at the ceiling for a couple of moments before closing her eyes. Her headache was making her a tad bit tired, and it was starting to make her fall asleep.

She passed out before she even got a chance to fight the tiredness off.

"Kairi?"

Kairi jumped at the sound of a knock on her bedroom door. Her eyes opened wide, and her ears perked up.

"What? Who's there?"

She looked all around her room, and then eyed the door. She frowned once she smelt the scent of Tifa.

"What?" she muttered.

"Squall is here looking for you"

Kairi bit down on her bottom lip, and felt her heart race. She thought that Squall was just joking around when he said that he would see her later. Turns out she was wrong.

"Great!" she sighed.

She got off of her bed as quickly as she could, and bolted to the door. She pushed Tifa out of her way as she left her bedroom, and zoomed down the hall to get to the front door. She hoped that Cloud wasn't around to notice that he was there.

"Uh, hi" Kairi said to Squall after she got to the door, and opened it. "Do you need something?"

She felt as if something was wrong because of the unwelcome look that was on Squall's face.

Squall glanced at her, and nodded.

"Yeah, but can we talk somewhere else?" he asked.

Kairi blinked, and slowly gave him a nod in response.

"Sure." She peered over her shoulder, and then walked outside. "Let's go."

She began to walk away from Seventh Heaven, hoping that Squall was going to follow her.

"So, how much did Cloud freak out at you after I left?" Squall asked once he caught up with Kairi.

Kairi shrugged, and focused what was ahead of her.

"He just nagged about how I should watch myself when I around you, and then he proceeded to tell me that I shouldn't be around you. He also told me that you've had your eyes on me before we even met. He was just being annoying, and overprotective."

She could sense that Squall tensed up after she told him the last part of her explanation.

"Really?"

Squall didn't know if he could look at her at the moment because his face was pale.

Kairi nodded.

"Yeah, he said that."

She sighed, and looked at him with the corner of her eyes. She was starting to feel really sorry for him.

"I guess that Cloud talked to you about me. Is this true?"

Squall hesitated to answer. He didn't want to give away information that he didn't want to give out.

Kairi frowned.

"I know that you probably don't want to tell me, but I want to know. This IS about me, so I should have the right to know what you two talked about."

"Fine, I'll answer!" Squall let out a long sigh. "For a couple of months now, I have been trying to get the chance to talk to you, but your brother kept getting in the way. He told me to not bother with you because you wouldn't give me the time of day. I knew that was just him being a jackass."

"Well, don't listen to Cloud. I already told him that he can't run my life." Kairi folded her arms, and shook her head.

"That is why I hid you, and didn't tell Cloud that I knew where you were. I thought that I would be nice enough to let you have some chance of freedom."

Kairi nodded, and smiled without knowing that she was.

"I hated you for that, but after I took some time to think about it, I changed my mind." She blinked, and stopped walking so she could turn to face him. "You don't seem like the type of person that would admit to things, or be this open. You're the type of person who would be anti-social, and kept your thoughts to yourself."

Squall stopped walking as well.

"I am anti-social, and keep my thoughts to myself. You bug too much, so that leaves me no choice but to give you the answers you want."

Kairi laughed because she knew that he was right.

"That sounds like me." She stopped laughing, and immediately turned serious.

"I got a question for you."

Squall raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

Kairi bit down on her bottom lip, and didn't know if she wanted to ask the question now or not. She tapped one of her feet lightly on the ground, and she lowered her head to watch it.

"Well, I have been thinking about this ever since I left your house a month ago. I noticed that when I stayed at your house, you were keeping something from me. You tended to hesitate all the time at certain moments, and you were almost to the point where you acted like you wanted to keep your distance. It seemed to me that you were somehow attracted to me. I don't know if that is true, but that is what I interpreted."

She stopped talking because she thought that she was going to drag the question too long, and Squall would stop paying attention. She decided to get right to the point.

"To make a long story short, do you like me?"

Squall did his best to prevent himself from not blushing like a fool. He didn't expect her to ask a personal question like that one.

"Uh." He scratched behind his head, and tried to think of how he was going to answer her. He kept his focus on Kairi's face, and noticed that she was giving him a look that a sad kitten would give a person. He had a strong feeling that she was trying to read his mind, and he wasn't going to let that happen.

"You want to know the truth?"

Kairi nodded, and prepared herself to react to anything.

Squall sighed.

"Cloud was telling the truth when he told you that I already started to like you before you even knew me. I did everything in my power to try to get past the barrier that Cloud had around you, but of course I couldn't get past it. Cloud thought that since you were different then everyone else, you'd get hurt more easily. I can see that since I have seen how people reacted towards you because of your ears and tail, but I've also seen that you don't really care what they all say.

When I found you in the ally, I knew that you must have had enough of Cloud not letting you get out, so you ran off. I was planning on leaving you there, but for some reason I felt bad."

Kairi thought that it was time to interrupt him.

"I thought you were some kidnapper, or a pervert when I woke up" she told him.

"Yeah, sorry for that" Squall apologized. He decided to continue. "Anyways, I did start to like you even more after the salmon incident. I managed to burn myself a couple more times after you left."

"Idiot."

Squall knew that she was going to say that to him.

"Yeah, I know." He nodded, and decided that he was going to be like Kairi, and shorten the story. "To make a long story short, I do like you."

A sudden wave of nervousness swept over him immediately after his confession. He had no clue how Kairi was going to react.

Kairi's eyes widened after he admitted that he liked her.

'I was right' she mentally told herself.

She chewed on her bottom lip several times as her face turned many shades of red. She was delighted that she heard that someone did indeed like her, but she didn't know how to react. He was the first one to ever admit any kind of feelings towards her.

"I-" She didn't know what to say to him. Her heart was beating so fast, and it felt as if it was caught in her throat.

Squall could see that she was having a hard time reacting to him.

"You don't have to say anything. You asked me a question, and I have you an answer. Cloud warned me that you were lacking some emotions, and it is hard for you to show it."

Kairi felt a few tears form under her eyes. She wanted to give him a reaction, or say something to him, but she didn't know what to do.

"Yes, I do need to say something" she told him as she turned away, and wiped the tears that were running down her cheeks.

"I can leave if you want me to."

Kairi quickly shook her head.

"No, I don't want you to leave!" She looked over at him. She wanted to tell him that she liked him too, but she didn't have the courage to tell him.

"I have to go." Kairi chickened out, and began to run away from Squall. She didn't want him to see how embarrassed she was just because she was being introduced to new things.

"Kairi!"

Kairi didn't respond to Squall. She could hear his footsteps as he ran after her, but she kept on running. Before she knew it, she felt a hand wrap around her arm, and the feeling of being pulled back. She turned around to yell something at Squall, but she was stopped as his lips crashed against hers.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Kairi's body froze after realizing that Squall had grabbed her, and kissed her. Her eyes widened, and her face felt like it was on fire because she was blushing so much. It made her blush more once she noticed that her body was lightly pressed against his.

'This isn't happening! This isn't happening!' she yelled mentally in her head.

She wanted to back away from him, but at the same time, she wanted the moment to last a few moments longer. She was wanted to embrace the fact that Squall really did have feelings for her even though her brother told him not to bother getting close to her.

"You shouldn't have done that" Kairi finally said as she pushed herself away from Squall, and turned her head so she didn't have to look at him. She bit down on her bottom lip, and made sure that her hair hid her face so he didn't have to see her red face. She didn't want to embarrass herself more than she already has.

Squall felt as if he offended her in some kind of way. He didn't know whether to feel as if he was a total ass, or not.

"Why? What did I do wrong?" he asked. He didn't bother to reach out to her. He was slightly afraid to.

Kairi shook her head.

"You didn't do anything wrong." She bit down on her bottom lip again, and moved her hair away from her face before glancing over at him. "We could have been seen by anyone that Cloud knows. If they did, they would tell Cloud, and I will get bitched at while he probably beats the crap out of you."

Squall couldn't help but to snicker.

"I honestly think that Cloud wouldn't be able to do that."

Kairi gave him a blank stare.

"No offense Squall, but my brother is a bit more muscular then you, and I think that he could flatten you in two seconds flat." She looked away from his face, and concentrated on the pendant that was attached to his necklace. She couldn't help but to reach up, and rested the back on her fingers while running her thumb over the smooth surface. It distracted her because it was shiny, and it gave her something else to stare at since she was starting to get nervous for no reason.

"You can't let Cloud control your life forever you know" Squall told her as he let out a sigh. "I know he is just trying to keep you safe, but you need a life too."

"I know" Kairi muttered as she let go of his necklace, and backed away from him. "He gets paranoid every time I go out because of Shinra."

"Yeah, I know that."

Kairi nodded, and fiddled around with a few pieces of her hair. Now that she knew that Squall liked her, she didn't know what to do, or say because she didn't want things to become awkward.

"When are you planning to go back?" she asked.

Squall raised an eyebrow.

"Hm?"

"When are you leaving?" Kairi asked again, only in a different way.

"Why you want to know that?"

Kairi noted the fact that Squall sounded both confused, and a bit offended.

"What I mean is, when are you going to be going back home?" She wanted him gone because she thought that it would be easier for her to get over him if he was not in Midgar, but at the same time, she wanted him there because she really liked him for some reason.

"Trying to get rid of me so soon?" Squall asked.

Kairi bit her bottom lip, and didn't say anything.

"Cloud is sure going to have your ass for this!" a voice interrupted.

Kairi frowned at the sound of the voice.

"What the hell do you want Reno?" Kairi hissed as she turned around to glare at him. Her body tensed up as she watched the red head approach her with a sly smirk on his face.

Reno let out a laugh, and shook his head.

"Boy, Cloud isn't going to be impressed with you."

"What do you mean?" Kairi spat. She didn't know whether he was messing around with her mind, or he was trying to plan something so he could take her back to Rufus.

Reno moved his head so it looked like he was pointing at Squall.

"I saw what he did to you."

Kairi raised an eyebrow, and looked over at Squall before putting her attention back to Reno. She knew that someone would see him kiss her.

"Don't tell Cloud" Squall butted in before Kairi could say anything.

Reno eyed Squall.

"Pfft, do you think that I am going to cover your ass just because you have a thing for your own friend's sister."

Kairi could feel the tension in the air, but she didn't know how to stop it.

"Wait, you and Cloud are friends?" she asked Squall. She knew that him, and her brother knew each other, but she didn't know that they were friends.

Squall only gave Kairi a small nod.

Kairi's face went deep red. Now that she knew that they were friends, she couldn't believe that Squall would go behind Cloud's back because he has a thing for his sister. She didn't know if she should be proud of that, or ashamed.

"Yeah that isn't a wise thing to do, though I don't really care" Reno jumped in as he reached out to turn Kairi around so he could push her in the direction of the bar. "Alright, let's go. Fun time is over."

Kairi hissed at him, and moved herself ahead before turning to face him.

"I am NOT giving myself over to Rufus!" She eyed Squall to see if he would do anything, but he was too busy looking like everything around him bothered him.

Reno shook his head.

"I am not going to take you to Rufus. I am just going to take you back to the bar so you can keep out of trouble!" He then pointed ahead. "So go."

"Fine!" She hissed at him, and began to walk away from both Reno and Squall. She cursed under her breath, and curled her hands into fists. She had a strong feeling that her brother was getting everyone that he knows to spy on her, and tell him everything that she does. Cloud was really starting to piss her off.

"I will see you later then" she sighed as she stopped for a quick second so she could glance over her shoulder to look at Squall, who was not looking at her at all. It slightly bothered her to see that he did not look impressed. Instead of giving her any response, he walked away without saying good bye.

Kairi frowned, as she watched him leave until she got mad enough to start running home. She was going to have a little chat with Cloud, whether he wanted to or not.

"Where the hell is Cloud?" Kairi hissed once she entered the bar, and slammed the door behind her. She ignored the fact that there were people in the bar, and they were staring at her.

Tifa raised an eyebrow at her as she passed someone their drink.

"I don't know, why?" She didn't bother to make eye contact with her.

Kairi rolled her eyes, and began to stomp her way out of the bar section.

"Wait!"

Kairi stopped to glare at Tifa

"What?"

Tifa folded her arms against her chest, and kept her brow raised

"You didn't answer my question."

"It is none of your business bitchface!" Kairi spat. She made a pissed off face, and left.

"Cloud, where the fuck are you?" Kairi murmured under her breath as she looked in every room, and corner of the building to find her brother. She picked up his scent, but she couldn't find a correct trail to follow.

She could feel the blood boil in her body because she couldn't find her brother.

"Cloud!"

"What?"

Kairi slightly sniffed the air, and in on quick turn, she eyed her brother, who was on the other end of the hall. She took a deep breath, and a loud growl escaped from her throat.

"You fucking asshole!" she snapped. She bolted down the hall, and lunged at Cloud before pinning him against the nearest wall, and using one of her hands to grab a hold of his throat.

Cloud didn't respond to her random outburst. He was too concentrated on prying Kairi's hand away from his neck.

"It is all your fault!" Kairi spat as she tried to put as much pressure on his neck as possible, but she was not getting anywhere because Cloud managed to always push her hand away.

"What is all my fault?" Cloud asked in an annoyed tone. He sounded as if he was use to her random outbursts.

Kairi stopped trying to strangle him, and gave him a death glare.

"Don't act all stupid! You know what you did!"

"No I don't!"

Kairi knew that he was lying because she could sense that he was.

"You called Reno, and told him to keep an eye on me because you know that Squall is in town!"

Cloud kept a straight face as he listened to her explanation.

"You are over thinking things again" he started. "I didn't think of doing anything like that."

"Hey Cloud!"

Kairi continued to give her brother the death glare as she could smell the scent of Reno.

"What the fuck do you want, Reno?" Kairi growled.

Cloud frowned at his sister, and looked over at Reno.

"What is it now?" He nudged Kairi away from him , and moved away from the wall that Kairi pinned him against.

Reno grinned as if he knew that he was going to say something that may cause some trouble.

"I thought that I would just stop by to tell you something that involves her." He pointed at Kairi.

Kairi butted in before Cloud could even have a chance to speak.

"Don't you dare!" Her face felt as if it was on fire from the humiliation.

Cloud looked like he regretted some things, but he brushed that aside.

"What did she do now?" he asked.

Reno crossed his arms, and let out a chuckle.

"Well I caught blondie number two with your little friend, Squall."

Kairi could feel the tension in the room grow thicker as she felt Cloud's stare. She bit down on her bottom lip, and slowly peered over with him with the corner of her eyes. She noticed that his mutual look was starting to change into a suspicious and angry glare.

"I just went for a little walk with him! Don't freak out at me!"

"Pfft, yeah right!" Reno jumped in. "I saw what you two were doing!"

After that comment, both Cloud and Kairi quickly glanced over at Reno, who was running away from them both.

"What did he mean by that?" Cloud asked as he turned his attention back to Kairi.

Kairi rolled her eyes, and didn't bother to make any eye contact with him.

"He is just being an asshole" Kairi mumbled. She placed her hands on her hips, and tried not to curse multiple things under her breath.

"Kairi." Cloud didn't sound thrilled.

Kairi shrugged.

"Don't worry about it Cloud. Squall told me that you and him are friends."

"That isn't what I was trying to get to."

Kairi rolled her eyes again, turned to face Cloud, and pointed at him.

"Look, you really need to stop worrying about things. There is NOTHING going on between me and Squall."

"Your face says otherwise."

Kairi blinked, and was unaware that her face was still red.

Cloud frowned.

"Kairi, I don't think that nothing should go on between you and Squall."

Kairi placed both of her hands on her hips.

"You are just saying that because he is your friend!" Her tail started to swish back and forth from getting angry.

"Yes, and no." Cloud sighed, and folded his arms. "I know how you get when it comes to getting close to people."

"Relationships are awkward, that's why!"

Cloud lowered his head to stare at the ground.

"I just don't think that you should try to get with him."

Kairi wanted to rip his head off right then and there, but she knew that she couldn't get the courage to do something like that to her brother. She just wanted him to understand that he can't control who she likes or dislikes.

"What if I told you that I know that he likes me, and well, I told him that I like him too." She smirked even though Cloud wasn't looking.

"What?" Cloud raised his head. The emotion on his face was a mixture of being pissed off, and shocked.

Kairi nodded, and continued to smirk.

"That is right; I have a thing for Squall. Being stuck with him for two weeks wasn't actually all that bad! Before Reno made me come back here, I was talking to Squall, and he doesn't think that it is right that you are trying to keep me sheltered, and stuff like that. Don't ask why he didn't tell you this personally because I honestly don't know." She frowned, and sighed. "All I know is that I wish that you would just stop being over protective, and accept the fact that I like someone. I know that Squall is your friend, but you can't control who he like either."

She felt very weird telling her brother all of that. She didn't expect any of that from herself.

An awkward silence broke out between the two after Kairi admitted her feelings to Squall. Her ears fell flat against her head after Cloud didn't say anything. She bit down on her bottom lip, and tried to wait patiently for her brother to respond. For once in her life, she watched her brother turned from disappointed to betrayed.

"Cloud?"

Cloud didn't respond to her at all. He didn't think twice before walking away from her, and left her alone in the hall.

Kairi glued her eyes to the end of the hall, and tried to figure out what just happened. She felt as if Cloud was trying to send her on a guilt trip, but she wasn't going to let him do that to her. She knew that Cloud would have to get over the fact that she really liked Squall.

"He'll get over it" Kairi sighed to herself as she began to walk down the other end of the hall. She came down to the conclusion that he was probably going to stop her in any shape or form from getting closer to Squall. That was another thing that she wasn't going to let him do.

"I'll think of something." She stopped in front of the door to her bedroom, and slowly opened it before she stepped one foot inside. She wanted to think of a plan for her to meet with Squall, but she had to throw that idea aside since she had no time to. Her night was going to be taken up by work, work, and more work.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Kairi sighed as she passed a mug full of beer to one of her customers, and collected the money from him before walking to another side of the counter. The bar wasn't even open for an hour, and already it was starting to get pretty busy.

"It is going to be a long night!" Kairi muttered to Tifa as she gathered a few empty mugs, and placed them with a pile that needed to be washed.

"Stop your whining" Tifa told her as she passed a few drinks to those who asked for them. "It isn't going to get you out of her sooner."

Kairi rolled her eyes, and began to wash some of the mugs before they ran out.

"Did you and Cloud get into a fight?" Tifa asked. She looked over her shoulder at Kairi, and waited for an answer. "I saw him earlier today, and he looked pretty down."

"Isn't he always like that?" Kairi sighed.

"Yes, he is, but this time he seemed more down than usual."

Kairi stared at the mug that she was washing, and frowned. She didn't know if she wanted to tell Tifa or not, but she knew that she would eventually find out herself.

"Fine, I will tell you!" she mumbled as she passed Tifa the mug that she just cleaned. She hesitated for a few moments, and then finally started talking. "I told Cloud that he should stop being so protective over me. I didn't know that he had other people watching out for me, and getting them to tell him everything that I do."

Tifa attended to a few of her customers before looking back at Kairi.

"I wondered how long it would take you to figure that out."

"You knew?" Kairi raised an eyebrow, and felt a bit pissed off.

Tifa nodded, and gave her some more mugs to clean.

"Yeah, but I don't think that Cloud would get really upset over something like that."

"I am not finished telling my story!" Kairi frowned, and began to clean the glasses that were given to her. "I told him how I feel about Squall."

Tifa stopped what she was doing, and turned to face Kairi. Her expression was priceless.

"You what?"

Kairi couldn't help but to slightly smile.

"Yeah, I told him how I felt about Squall. I already know that Cloud is aware that Squall likes me too. Cloud can't control who I like you know."

"Are you crazy Kairi?" Tifa asked. "You know that they are friends!"

"Cloud will just have to learn to get over it" Kairi responded as she smiled more.

Tifa made a face as if she was unsure how to react to Kairi. She opened her mouth to say something, but she stopped after hearing a customer call for her.

"Hey, cat girl!"

Kairi's ears perked up, and twitched after hearing the call of a man who approached the counter. By the sound of his voice, he was already drunk.

"Yes?" she responded as she turned to glance at the man. She didn't know whether to smile, or frown because of what he called her.

The man leaned against the counter, and held up the mug that was in his hand.

"Be a good girl, and get me another drink."

She stared at the man, and debated if she should give him another drink, or tell him he has had enough. She didn't like how he was looking at her as if she was a piece of meat, or as if she was someone that he was going to bring home later.

"I'm sorry, but I can't" she told the man as she walked over to the edge of the counter, and took the glass from his hand. "You've had enough to drink tonight."

The man grinned, and let out a laugh before leaning more against the counter. He used a finger from the hand he held the mug in to poke her chest.

"Pfft, I am fine. I am not drunk!"

Kairi held her breath after inhaling the stench of sweat, and alcohol. She felt like she was going to throw up.

"I suggest you to keep your hands off of me if you want to remain in this bar" Kairi warned.

The man laughed more.

"A girl who thinks she is all tough. I like women like that."

Kairi could feel her jaw tighten with anger. She wasn't in the mood to deal with drunks.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the bar" she said in a serious tone. She eyed Tifa, who was keeping an eye on her.

The man didn't listen to Kairi at all. The grin that was on his face went from playful, to devious.

"That won't be necessary" he told her as he reached to grab her wrist, and tried to pull her closer.

"Hey, keep your hands off of her!" Tifa stepped in, and reached out to pull Kairi away from the man, but when she did, the man had thrown up all over the front of Kairi's shirt.

Kairi's eyes widened after she came to the conclusion that she was just thrown up on. The new stench got into her nose, which made her hold her free hand over her mouth to prevent herself from throwing up. She stared at whatever the man threw up on her, raised her head to glance at Tifa, and realized that everyone in the bar was looking at her. Her face heated up from both embarrassment, and anger.

'Don't freak out!' she told herself mentally.

She bit down on her bottom lip, and tried to bring herself back to reality. Everything seemed like it was going in slow motion.

"Kairi?"

Kairi could feel Tifa shaking her, but she ignored her. She was too busy staring at the man that just threw up on her. She was debating whether to punch him or not, but her angry side got the best of her.

"You asshole!" she snapped.

She dropped the glass that she held, which shattered as it touched the ground. She then proceeded to grab the collar of the man's shirt with one hand, and with one swift motion of her other arm; she punched the man square in the face.

"Kairi!" Tifa grabbed her arm to pull her back, but Kairi pushed her hand away from her.

"I have had it Tifa!" Kairi gave Tifa an emotionless stare as she began to wipe a few tears that were forming in her eyes. "I have had enough of this place! I have had enough of putting up with all these assholes!" She stormed past Tifa, and ran to the front door.

"Kairi, don't do this!" Tifa frowned, and watched Kairi open the door.

Kairi brushed her comment away, and stopped once she got half way out the door.

"I have had enough of Midgar!" she spat. After that comment, she walked out, and slammed the door behind her.

"That fucking asshole!" Kairi cried out.

Kairi's hands clenched into fists as she stomped down the street, and used the back of her hand to wipe more tears away. She couldn't believe how idiotic men could be while they were drunk, but she couldn't say much because she could be as bad when she is under the influence.

She took a quick glance at her shirt, and quickly looked away before her stomach started turning again. It made her kind of depressed to know that the throw up was still on her shirt while walked around in public.

"Well that should be the talk of the town for a while" she muttered. She turned into a small ally way, and placed her back against one of the walls. She ran her fingers through her hair as she blankly eyed the sky, but she immidetly stopped once she felt a few chunks of slimy stuff in her hair. She examined whatever she got on her hands, and discovered that some of the throw up got in her hair.

"FOR FUCK SAKES!" she shouted.

"Kairi, is that you?"

Kairi let out a low growl after hearing someone say her name.

"What the fuck do you want?" she snarled. She turned her head towards the entrance of the ally way, and saw Squall standing a few feet from her.

"Are you ok?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow. "What happened to you?"

She kept her gaze on him for a long moment, and then looked down at her shirt.

"Some asshole threw up on me at the bar" she responded in a low tone.

Squall didn't know how to respond to her explanation.

"I knocked the guy out, and ran" Kairi continued. "I have had enough of this place."

"Maybe you just need to calm down." He walked closer to her, but stopped once he caught on how awful Kairi smelled.

"How can I calm down?" She raised her voice, and threw her hands in the air. "I got thrown up on by some asshole who was hitting on me!"

"I guess you have a point." Squall shrugged.

"Why are you here anyway? " Kairi decided that it was time to change the subject before she started crying.

Squall frowned, and let out a small sigh. He didn't know if he wanted to tell her anything or not.

Kairi snapped him a cold and angry glare.

"Just spit it out! I know that there is something that you want to tell me!" She didn't mean to snap at him, but she couldn't help it.

Squall nodded at her, and folded his arms.

"Remember when I told you that I might be leaving Midgar to go back home?"

Kairi felt her heart tighten the second he stopped talking. She didn't want him to go, but she knew that he had a home to go back to.

"Yes."

"Well, I am going back tonight. I was going to leave without telling you, but I decided that you needed to-"

"Take me with you!" Kairi interrupted.

Squall gave her a confused stare.

"What?"

Kairi moved away from the wall so she was facing him. She bit her bottom lip, and was on the verge of crying.

"I said, take me with you. I have had enough of Midgar. I need to get away from here!" She was ready to drop down on her knees, and hug Squall's legs while begging him to take her with him, but she wasn't about to do that with puke all over the front of her.

Squall could see that she was really upset, but he thought that was just because she was freaking out over the fact that she didn't have a good night, and she was talking without thinking.

"I don't think that would be a good idea." He shook his head.

"Why isn't it a good idea?" Kairi asked. "Is it because you don't want Cloud to be pissed off at you? I'm sorry to tell you this, but he already is pissed off, and right now I don't really care. I just need to get away from this place!"

She finally gave into holding herself back from Squall. She walked over to him, fell to her knees, hugged his legs, and rested her forehead on one of his legs while bursting out crying. She didn't care if she got throw up all over him or not. She just wanted to get her point across to him.

"Please, take me with you!"

A thick coat of silence filled the air between them for several minutes.

Squall peered down at Kairi, and felt a tiny bit nauseous after seeing that she got puke all over his pants. He didn't know that she was that desperate to leave until now.

"Do you really want to run off again, and leave your brother without him knowing?" he asked her.

Kairi nodded, and hugged his legs tighter.

"Yes, that is what I want to do. I will give him an explanation later if I have to." She looked up at Squall, and chewed on her bottom lip.

Squall stared at her for a few moments longer before turning his head away. He wished that he had more time to think about his decision, but he knew that he didn't have much time. He had to admit that he did miss having Kairi around, but at the same time, he knew that it was wrong because it was his friend's sister.

"Fine, you can come with me" he finally responded with a sigh.

His answer lit up Kairi's face. She smiled at him, and let out a joyful laugh that was mixed with her crying. That was the answer that she wanted to hear.

"Thank you!"

"Can you let go of me now?" Squall asked. "You've gotten puke all over my pants."

Kairi blinked, and looked at his legs, and noticed how much of the throw up she had gotten on his pants. "Oh, sorry." She leg to of his legs, and got up onto her feet. She wished that she could hug him, but she knew that wouldn't be a good idea.

"You should head back and get some of your things" Squall suggested. "I am going to be leaving soon."

Kairi gave him a look that told him that she didn't want to go back. She didn't want to be spotted by anyone before she left, but she knew that she needed her gunblade, and other things.

"Fine."

The trip back didn't take too long for Kairi, and to her surprise, it was actually to sneak to her room without being noticed.

"Ugh, that is nasty!" Kairi complained as took off the puke covered tank top she was wearing, threw the shirt into a bag, and wiped down some chunks that dried up on her chest. She let out a frustrated sigh, and changed into a shirt that she found on her bed before she started to pack a few things to take with her. She didn't know how long she was going to be staying with Squall, so she made sure stuffed as many things as she could into a backpack. It reminded of her of when she was first staying with him. All she had was a backpack, and her gunblade.

"Alright Kairi, you can do this" she told herself after throwing the backpack over one shoulder, and grabbed her gunblade. "You did this last time." She slightly smiled, and began to leave her room. She took a quick moment to glance over her shoulder to examine her room, and immediately eyed a picture of her and Cloud that was on a stand by her bed. The picture made her smile fade. She began to hate herself for leaving without telling her brother, but it was something that he would have to get over. "I'm sorry Cloud" she said out loud in a faint whisper. She bit her bottom lip, and left her room.

Kairi stared at the front door of Squall's place once they arrived. The last time she looked at the door was when she was leaving to go back to Midgar. She felt weird for returning, but this time, she wasn't being hidden from anyone.

"You ok?" Squall asked as he unlocked the door, and opened it. "You've been really quiet."

Kairi blinked, and looked at Squall after he walked into his home. She didn't realize that the last time she said anything to him was when they left Midgar.

"Sorry." She nodded, and stepped into the house after him. "Yeah, I am ok. I was just thinking of things."

"Well, don't overdo it."

Kairi gave him a small smile, and closed the door behind her.

"I was just thinking about the last time I was here."

"The last time you were here was when you left."

Kairi sighed.

"The last time I was here, I attacked you in an ally way, and almost killed you."

Squall chuckled, and threw his keys on the table.

"Yeah, I still remember that."

"Sorry for that by the way." Kairi didn't know why she was apologizing to him. She never apologized for anything before. She still had no idea what was about Squall that made her act so different.

Squall shrugged off her apology.

"You don't need to say you're sorry. I was already aware of how you will act if you get that angry. You forget that I get all of my information from Cloud right?"

Kairi frowned, and slowly nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose you do." Her nose then scrunched up once she remembered that she smelt like throw up. "Mind if I use the shower? I don't want to walk around smelling like puke."

Squall managed to let out a chuckle.

"Yeah, I don't want to smell it either."

Kairi gave him a smile, and took her things to the bathroom so she could wash up.

Kairi sighed in relief as she let the hot water hit her body. Not only was she happy about getting a shower to remove the smell of puke, but she was also glad that she was away from Midgar once again. In a way, she was excited to be staying with Squall again, though it made her wonder how they would react to one another now that they both know their feelings for one another. She wondered how it would affect their relationship.

"Everything is going to be ok, right?" she asked herself as she began to wash her hair. It worried, and scared her slightly to know that the relationship between her and Squall maybe at risk if things go wrong. She had no idea why she was so concerned about her love life. It really started to creep her out.

"I see that you are finally back!"

Kairi's ears perked up at the sound of a voice she could hear that was coming from somewhere in the house.

"Why does that sound like Irvine?" She raised an eyebrow, and waited to see if she could hear anything else.

"Why? You were looking for me?" This time it was Squall that spoke.

"Yeah, I came by here awhile back, and noticed that you were gone." There was silence for a few moments until the voice spoke again. "Is there someone else here because I hear water running from the bathroom?"

"You're just hearing things."

"Shit!" Kairi hissed under her breath as she tried to wash her hair as fast as she could before someone approached the bathroom. She had a feeling that Squall wouldn't be able to distract Irvine long enough.

"There is nobody in there Irvine!"

"Then why do I hear noises from there?"

Kairi turned her head towards the door, and could feel her body tense up from mentally panicking.

"Don't open the door!"

By the time she turned off the water, and took one step out of the shower, the door opened, and Irvine stood in the doorway.

"Uh-"

Kairi took a step back as she let out a loud scream. She was unaware of the wet floor beneath her, which made her slip into the shower. She didn't even have time to grab a towel to cover herself.

Irvine didn't know whether to look away, or to keep staring, but he looked away just for his safety.

"Why is there a bl- wait a minute isn't that the girl who was here the last time I came here?" Irvine couldn't help but to look at her to see why she looked so familiar.

Kairi sat herself up, and covered herself with her hands, arms and legs.

"Get the fuck out!" She yelled, but it almost came out as a growl. "SQUALL!" She gave Irvine the glare of death until Squall appeared. She opened her mouth to say something to him, but she then hid herself in amongst her long hair once Squall accidently looked at her and quickly turned away as he grabbed Irvine's arm.

"Ok, you've seen enough" Squall said to Irvine. He pushed him out, and closed the bathroom door.

Kairi's face turned deep red as she ignored whatever Irvine and Squall were saying from the other side of the door. She was too embarrassed to even think about what just happened. It made her more embarrassed to know that Squall just saw her completely naked.

"Ok Kairi, just get dressed!" she told herself. She pulled herself to her feet, and grabbed her towel before taking her time to dry herself off, and to get dressed. She had a feeling she wouldn't be walking out of the bathroom any time soon. She didn't want to face Squall, nor Irvine. It made her head hurt just thinking about everything that happened in just one night. First she got thrown up on by some creep at the bar, and then being walked in while she was taking a shower.

"Cloud would have freaked if he heard about this." She frowned, put her clothes on, and stared at her reflection from the mirror. She began to wonder how Cloud would react once he came to the conclusion that she wasn't there anymore. She knew that he would probably go out once again to look for her, or send someone else out to do the job for him. She felt really bad for leaving Midgar again, but she thought that she had to do it for the sake of her own sanity. She knew that she wouldn't have a chance to have a life there.

"Ugh, I need sleep!" she groaned as she returned to drying her hair.

"Hey, are ok in there?"

Kairi glanced at the door once she heard Squall's voice, followed by a knock. Her face turned beat red.

"Yeah, I'm ok" she answered.

"Irvine is gone, so it is safe to come out."

Kairi blinked after she noticed that Squall sounded really embarrassed, but she didn't want to bring that up.

"Uh, I will be out in a minute then." She gathered her things as quickly as she could, stepped towards the door, and opened it. "Are you sure that it is safe to come out?" She peeked out, and looked up and down the hall before seeing Squall walk down the hall that lead to the living room.

"Are you sure that he is gone?" she asked while following him. Even though she couldn't pick up Irvine's stench, she still wanted to know if he was somewhere in the house or not.

"I kicked him while you were still in the bathroom."

Kairi sighed in relief, and could feel that Squall felt a bit humiliated about the shower incident. It slightly bothered her that he wouldn't even look at her in the eye when he talks.

"Hey, it wasn't your fault that you saw me naked! Blame your friend!" She tried to say something that she hoped cheered him up a tiny bit, but something inside her told her that it probably wouldn't work.

"You should have locked the door." The tone of Squall's showed that he wasn't pleased.

Kairi frowned as she watched him sit down on a chair.

"Yeah, I know, that was stupid of me!" She sighed, and walked into the room so she could sit on the sofa. "I still blame Irvine though."

A frown appeared on Squall's face. He kept his gaze on either the floor, or the wall. He was unaware that his face was starting to turn a bit red from blushing.

Kairi placed her things beside her, and folded her arms against her chest.

"Look, Squall, you really should get over this. It was only a one-time thing. There will be more incidents in your life that will make you feel more ashamed then this." She thought that she might as well try to get him to get over what just happened rather than let him fuss over it.

"This shouldn't have happened."

"Too bad scarface, it did happen."

Squall finally made eye contact with her. He was still frowning.

"You are acting really weird you know that?" He sounded rather annoyed.

Kairi raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? How am I acting weird?"

"You usually don't give a shit about anything, but you've been acting all nice since before I agreed to take you back here with me!"

"Is that your problem?" Kairi felt like bursting out laughing, but she contained herself. "I think that your problem is that you are tired."

Squall let out a frustrated sigh, and rubbed his face with his hands.

"I don't have time for this" he muttered as he got up off of the chair. "I am going to bed."

After that was said, he left the room, and left Kairi sitting on the couch with a confused look on her face.

"What the hell was that all about?" Kairi asked herself. She blinked, and tried to think what just happened between her and Squall. She shrugged it off, and placed her things on the floor before lying down on the couch. She eyed the other end of the couch, and saw the blanket that she used the last time she slept on the couch.

"He never moved it." She smiled, grabbed it, wrapped herself in the blanket, and lay back down on the couch. Instantly, she fell asleep.


End file.
